105 rare American coins expected to fetch $20m
NEW YORK: A New York auction of American coins from 1792 to the 1830s could bring as much as $20 million.
The 105-coin sale on Sept 30 is the second of five auctions by Stack’s Bowers and Sotheby’s of federal coinage from the D. Brent Pogue Collection.
Among the stars of the sale is a 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar, known as the Lord Saint Oswald specimen, estimated between $3 million and $5 million. The coin was acquired in Philadelphia after its mintage by British author and House of Lords member William Strickland. It remained in the possession of his descendants until a 1964 auction.
Other highlights in the sale include a 1795 Capped Bust Right Eagle, also known as the Garrett Eagle, worth $10 when it was minted. It is considered the single finest surviving US gold coin struck in the 18th century.
“It’s undoubtedly the most valuable $10 gold piece in existence and may also set a new record for any pre-Gold Rush United States gold coin,’’ said Stack’s expert numismatist John Kraljevich.
Its pre-sale estimate is $750,000 to $1.2 million. The current record is $2.35 million for a quarter eagle worth $2.50 when it was struck in 1808. It sold at the first Pogue collection auction in May.
The 1795 coin was once owned by T. Harrison Garrett, a Baltimore banker, and later his sons, who donated it to Johns Hopkins University in 1942. It was later sold at auction.
Pogue, a Dallas property developer, spent decades amassing 650 early American coins. Valued at $200 million, it is believed to be the most valuable rare coin collection in the world.
In May, the two auction houses sold 128 coins from his collection for $25.3 million.
The remaining Pogue coin auctions are scheduled for 2016, on Feb 18, May 19 and Sep 22.