A Coming Attraction
As you read these words, in slightly over three months we will be auctioning Part III of the D. Brent Pogue Collection. The venue will be familiar: the international headquarters of Sotheby’s in New York City, our partners in a sale that will be forever remembered in the halls of numismatics. The date is February 9, 2016, for the Pogue III sale and the next day, also at Sotheby’s, for our Rarities Auction in a separate catalog. It is not too early to make travel and hotel reservations.
For our Rarities Auction we are accepting a limited number of choice and rare coins, tokens, medals, and paper money. Imagine having YOUR coins sold at Sotheby’s in the same venue that is famous worldwide for art, antiques, and other items. Many private Sotheby’s bidders will compete as will, of course, those on the incomparable Stack’s Bowers Galleries client roster.
The 1819 Half Eagle
This week’s showcase coin on the Internet is the rare and famous half eagle of 1819 with the reverse D (in 5 D) over an erroneous 0, Bass-Dannreuther-1. The engraver thought he was cutting a die for a half dollar (for which dies read 50). This blunder was detected in time, and he punched the correct D over it. An example this coin would be desirable in any grade. The Pogue coin is beyond wonderful: It is gem MS-65 (PCGS) and is the finest graded by PCGS.
The preceding would be enough to state, but there is more – a quintessence surrounding the coin, with its provenance or pedigree dating back to Joseph J. Mickley and William Sumner Appleton in the 1860s, then through W. Elliot Woodward to T. Harrison Garrett in 1883. In his time Mickley was the most famous collector in Philadelphia and was nationally known. A book could be written about him. Woodward was far and away the most admired and talented coin auction cataloger of his time. The American Journal of Numismatics called him “the lion of the day.” As to Garrett, Dave Bowers has already written a book about him and his collection, The History of United States Coinage as Illustrated by the Garrett Collection, for the Johns Hopkins University in 1979. The first print run of 4,000 copies was sold out in a few weeks. In time, about 15,000 copies were sold. In a recent article, well-known researcher Dr. Joel Orosz said that this was the one book he would take with him if he were on a desert island!
This 1819 half eagle is a perfect “Your Name Here” opportunity for its next owner to add his or her name to a roster that is beyond comparison.
The surfaces on both sides are brilliant and partially prooflike. The coin is sharply struck. Its state of preservation suggests that it may have been a special striking or given to someone who cherished it for a long time.
As noted, the reverse die is one of the most interesting errors of its era. The engraver may have been daydreaming, thinking he was working on a half dollar die, and entered 50 as the denomination. This was recognized and the erroneous 0 was overpunched with a D (for dollar). This die was also used to coin some 1818 half eagles.
In our Garrett Collection sale this coin was bought by R.E. (“Ted”) Naftzger, Jr. In 1981 it was consigned to David W. Akers, whose description included:
1819, Gem Uncirculated 65 or better. 5D over 50 variety. An utterly magnificent coin that ranks with the finest examples of this type that we have ever seen… This coin is 100% fully struck with intense luster and gorgeous natural toning. The reverse is especially beautiful, basically a deep orange color. There are a few minute, scattered contact marks in the semi-prooflike fields but the coin is close to MS-67 quality; its overall appearance is absolutely superb! To the best of our knowledge, this specimen is unequalled by any other known 1819 half eagle…
Provenance: From Joseph J. Mickley; William Sumner Appleton; W. Elliot Woodward, January 23, 1883; T. Harrison Garrett; Robert Garrett; John Work Garrett; The Johns Hopkins University; our Garrett Collection Sale, November 1979, lot 462; Paramount’s fixed price list of the R.E. Naftzger, Jr. Collection, 1981, p. 9.
