In their November 2023 Showcase Auction, Stack’s Bowers Galleries presented for the first time freshly reviewed rarities that had been approved by Greg Roberts and David Hall in the newly formed CMQ service. A number of these spectacular coins attracted spirited bidding and realized world record prices.
“In recent years, the collector has become more sophisticated,” explained Greg Roberts, CEO of Stack’s Bowers Galleries. “Thirty-five years ago, a group of professional numismatists joined forces with David Hall and formed PCGS, and the marketplace was forever transformed. Today, it is not just the highest grades that are desirable, but also coins that are of exquisite eye appeal and quality for the grade. With that in mind, David Hall and I created a new approval service, Collectible Market Qualified. Upon review of each piece and our unanimous approval, CMQ will affix their sticker on a coin. With the combined decades of expertise and credibility in the rare coin market, we anticipated that CMQ would be a welcomed addition to the marketplace.”
“The recently concluded November 2023 Rarities Night Auction was the debut of CMQ-approved coins crossing the block and coming to market,” Brian Kendrella, president of Stack’s Bowers Galleries, continued. “Based on the prices many of these coins realized, which include record setting prices for individual coins, CMQ is being well received and accepted by collectors and dealers alike.”
The highest price realized in the sale was achieved by lot 3298, the Proof 1855 Kellogg & Co $50 piece from the Eliasberg Collection. Known as “The King of Territorial Gold Coins,” this piece has a pedigree that dates to the time of striking and included Augustus Humbert, John Story Jenks, and Arthur C. Nygren before becoming a part of the Clapp and Eliasberg collections. Realizing $780,000, this piece brought more than the PCGS Proof-64 Cameo that sold nearly a decade ago as part of the Riverboat Collection.
Additional incredible prices realized include the following records:
Lot 3016. The finest certified 1869 silver three-cent piece, graded Proof-67+ Cameo (PCGS) with a CMQ-X sticker brought $48,000, more than 2.5 times the previous price record at public auction and well above the $35,000 Collectors Universe value.
Lot 3036. A Gem 1935 Doubled Die Reverse Buffalo nickel was graded MS-65 (PCGS) and approved by CAC and CMQ. As the only example approved by CAC and tied for finest graded at PCGS, it realized $38,400, surpassing by a wide margin the current Collectors Universe value of $27,500.
Lot 3039. A truly spectacular early Proof rarity, this 1829 Capped Bust half dime. (LM-13.1. Rarity-8 as a Proof) was graded Proof-64+ (PCGS) and earned approval from CAC and CMQ. It brought $96,000, nearly four times the current PCGS Price Guide value, and just shy of the $102,813 realized by the Proof-67+ we sold in 2015 as part of the D. Brent Pogue Collection.
Lot 3115. A superb example of the short-lived Type II gold dollar, an 1854 from the Barbaro Acres Collection graded MS-67 (PCGS) CMQ brought $96,000, a record for the grade. The last time a PCGS MS-67 example sold was in our (ANR) July 2003 Classics Sale.
Lot 3117. Another gold dollar from the Barbaro Acres Collection, the 1860-D graded AU-55 (PCGS) CMQ realized $16,800, a healthy premium over the published price guide values.
Lot 3120. One of the finest 1884 gold dollars, graded MS-67 PL (NGC) CAC and with a CMQ-X sticker, brought $13,200. This set a new record for a Prooflike example of the date, exceeding the $10,000 Collectors Universe value and the CAC CPG Retail Price Guide values of $10,000 and $10,800 respectively.
Lot 3131. A choice 1840-D Liberty Head quarter eagle, Winter 1-A in EF-45 (PCGS) and CMQ-approved brought $15,600, a record for the grade, surpassing the PCGS Price Guide value.
Lot 3149. A very scarce Mint State 1799 Capped Bust Right half eagle (BD-2. Rarity-5+. Small Reverse Stars) graded MS-62 (PCGS) and approved by CAC and CMQ brought $66,000, surpassing the PCGS Price Guide and CAC CPG values and setting a record price for the grade.
Lot 3164. A very choice and original 1814/3 Capped Head Left half eagle graded MS-63 by PCGS and in an OGH Rattler received approval from both CAC and CMQ. It brought $78,000, a world record for the issue. The previous record was for the PCGS MS-64+ example we sold in the February 2016 sale of the D. Brent Pogue Collection, Part III, which brought $64,625.
Lot 3166. An 1823 Capped Head Left half eagle graded MS-62 (PCGS) and approved by CAC and CMQ realized $55,200, surpassing the published price guide values and setting a new record for the grade.
Lot 3221. An essentially perfect 1908-S Indian eagle graded MS-69 (NGC) CMQ sold for $240,000, a record for the date. This coin last sold a decade ago in our July 2013 auction for $182,250—a record price that stood until now.
Lot 3224. An original 1850-O Liberty Head double eagle, graded AU-58 (PCGS) and featuring CAC and CMQ stickers, garnered $50,400, surpassing the PCGS Price Guide value of $45,000 and handily exceeding the last PCGS AU-58 CAC example that sold in our June 2010 Bowers and Merena auction.
Lot 3245. A conditionally challenging 1870-S Liberty Head double eagle graded MS-62 (NGC) CMQ realized $31,200. This surpassed the current NGC Price Guide value of $25,000 and the CAC CPG value of $21,000 by 20% and 33%, respectively.
Lot 3254. A Rarity-8 Branch Mint Proof 1907-D Liberty Head double eagle, Branch Mint Proof-62 (PCGS) CMQ realized $432,000. The PCGS Price Guide lists the value at $375,000, while the CAC CPG valued this rarity at $186,000 in Proof-62. For perspective, in June 2020, an NGC-certified Proof-65 sold for $180,154.
Lot 3286. An 1877 Pattern eagle (Judd-1545, Pollock-1718. Rarity-7-. Copper. Reeded Edge) in a Proof-66 RB PCGS Old Green Holder and approved by CMQ realized a record for this very rare Judd number at $50,400.
Lot 3301. The Eliasberg 1860 Clark, Gruber & Co. $20 was graded AU-55 (PCGS) OGH and earned a CMQ-X sticker. This example of the famed Pikes Peak $20 rarity realized $552,000, a world record for a PCGS-graded $20 of this type.
Complete prices realized results for the November 2023 Rarities Night Session are available at StacksBowers.com. Stack’s Bowers Galleries is now accepting consignments for their Spring 2024 Official Auction of the Whitman Expo. For more information about consigning contact a consignment specialist today at 800-458-4646 or at Consign@StacksBowers.com. For more information about submitting your coins for CMQ approval, please visit cmq.stacksbowers.com
About Collectible Market Qualified (CMQ)
Stacks Bowers Galleries, the renowned numismatic auction house, and David Hall, the esteemed founder of Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), have partnered to form Collectible Market Qualified (CMQ), a service that identifies the highest quality graded coins in the market.
Collectors, dealers, and investors can submit coins to be evaluated by David Hall and Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ CEOGreg Roberts, two of the most accomplished numismatists of all-time. Hall and Roberts assess each coin for its quality, eye appeal and grade. Those that meet CMQ’s rigorous standards are recognized as “qualified” and granted a tamper-resistant hologram sticker.
CMQ offer two levels of stickers – CMQ (Collectible Market Qualified) and CMQ-X (Collectible Market Qualified Exceptional). Each coin submitted for CMQ review is photographed by Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ award-winning photography department and those images are available in submitters’ online accounts.
For information on what coins are eligible, how to submit coins, pricing, and other inquiries, please visit www.StacksBowers.com/CMQ.
