MAGNIFICENT QUARTER DOLLARS SOLD FOR STUNNING PRICES
POGUE AND SIMPSON COLLECTIONS PROVIDE DIVERSIONS
Pogue and Simpson Collections Provide Diversions
The spirits of collectors during the pandemic were lifted by the offering of beautiful classic U.S. coins. Very pretty U.S. silver quarters and a silver quarter dollar pattern were auctioned during the gloomy year of the COVID pandemic from March 2020 to February 2021.
The spirits of collectors during the pandemic were lifted by the offering of beautiful classic U.S. coins. Very pretty U.S. silver quarters and a silver quarter dollar pattern were auctioned during the gloomy year of the COVID pandemic from March 2020 to February 2021.
Because the Pogues and Bob Simpson very much liked pretty quarter dollars and quarter dollars from both collections were auctioned during the pandemic, some of the most colorful, classic U.S. quarters were available. Indeed, the number and eye appeal of pretty quarters that were auctioned from March 2020 to February 2021 overwhelmed the senses of aficionados of superb gem silver coins.
The most beautiful U.S. quarter auctioned during this period was not really a coin, but a silver quarter dollar pattern. This pattern is of a design that was proposed and not chosen for regular U.S. coinage.
There are 1882 Shield Earring patterns of quarters, half dollars and dollars.
This specific Shield Earring quarter pattern, however, is awe-inspiring. I am glad to have had the opportunities to closely examine this pattern in three different years. I was stunned when
I first saw it at the Stack’s galleries in
New York city during the week prior to the sale of the Rothschild Collection of patterns on October 15, 2003.
Unfortunately, all published images of this quarter dollar pattern do not do justice to its beauty. The wonderful colors, balanced tones and glistening mirrors are just too amazing to describe. The head of Miss Liberty was white-frosted when it was struck and provided for a remarkable cameo effect. Her head has since naturally tinted red and blue, so Miss Liberty is red, white and blue, in a tasteful way. Additionally, there are blue numerals and letters amid tan and russet tones.
When this pattern is tilted and rotated around under a proper lamp, the obverse (front) glows magnificently. On the reverse (back), orange, blue and yellow-green tones shine into the eyes of the viewer.
This Shield Earring quarter dollar pattern was auctioned for $48,875 on October 15, 2003. On January 7, 2009, Heritage auctioned David Queller’s collection of patterns. For $126,500, Richard Burdick was the top bidder while representing the Pogue Family. On March 20, 2020, it realized $78,000.
Barber quarters are coins, not patterns, and were minted from 1892 to 1916. The Pogue Family had a complete set and several duplicates.
The Pogue Family 1898 Barber quarter has wonderfully pleasing blue and russet tones, with some pale green and yellow hues. The price realized of $18,000 was perhaps mostly attributable to the very colorful and certainly natural toning.
The blue, red, orange, tan and green colors of the Pogue 1908-D quarter are even prettier than the colors on the 1898. Further, this 1908-D was a technical marvel. The PCGS rating of MS-67 was verified by CAC. I doubt any clear thinking expert would grade this coin less than MS-67.
In the same Pogue VII event, Stack’sBowers auctioned a 1904-O Barber
quarter that was PCGS rated as MS-67+ and also has a green sticker from the Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC). Experts at CAC verified that the grade of this coin is in the middle or upper part of the MS-67 spectrum. Experts at CAC are not revealing whether or not they think any coin deserves a plus grade. Experts at CAC ignore the plus of each plus rating when they evaluate PCGS or NGC plus-designated coins that are sent to CAC.
There are some marks and lines on the obverse. This Pogue coin is not the finest known 1904-O quarter; it is just the most beautiful. The finest known is the Gene Gardner 1904-O, which Heritage auctioned i n June 2014 for $41,125.
This Pogue Family 1904-O quarter garnered $31,200 on March 20, 2020.
The toning on the Pogue 1904-O quarter is magnificent and the luster beneath the toning is awesome. The luster glitters behind the colors. Several shades of green are well balanced with multiple russet and blue hues. This 1904-O was probably kept in an album or ‘coin board’ of a variety that many collectors used from the 1920s to the 1950s. I have seen the same shades and hues on many other naturally toned Barber coins. It was just by chance that the colorful tones came about in such a fabulous unplanned
‘order’ on this 1904-O quarter. As with many colorful coins, published images really do not tell much about the real appearance of this coin. It must be seen.
It is likely that bidders were excited about the colorful toning of the Pogue Family Collection 1923 Standing Liberty quarter. The CPG-CAC price guide value for a MS-67 1923 quarter was and still is $1,560. The price realized was precisely ten times as much as this price guide value, $15,600.
I covered the strong prices in the Pogue VII sale in the June/July 2020 issue of COINage magazine and in other settings. This was probably the last of the Pogue Family Collection auctions by Stack’s-Bowers, though the Childs-Pogue 1804 silver dollar will be offered by this same auction company in 2021. The Simpson I sale, on September 17, 2020, was the first of
the auctions of the Bob Simpson Collection by Heritage.
In Simpson I, there was a very attractive 1868 quarter that was previously in the Eric Newman and Gene Gardner collections. It was NGC designated Proof-68*-Cameo. Experts at NGC awarded a star is for eye appeal. This
1868 quarter realized $47,000 in November 2013, $25,850 in May 2015, and $27,600 in September 2020. By then, it had crossed into a PCGS holder.
I am not saying that this coin should be graded 68. Indeed, I am not commenting upon PCGS or NGC ratings here. I am saying that this Proof 1868 quarter is a beautiful coin and that its toning is natural.
Another Proof Liberty Seated quarter with beautiful natural toning is the Newman-Simpson 1883. In November 2013, Heritage auctioned most of the best U.S. silver coins from the landmark collection of Eric Newman. He was a legend during his own lifetime, which was long. Newman lived to be over 106 years old, from 1911 to 2017.
In 2012 or 2013, Newman’s Proof 1883 quarter was NGC designated Proof-69*-Cameo. The star means that experts at NGC figured that this coin has more eye appeal than would be necessary for the given grade, 69 in this case.
This is one of seven Proof Liberty Seated quarters graded 69 by NGC, with or without any kind of designation about eye appeal or a cameo effect. Neither PCGS nor NGC has listed a Liberty Seated quarter as Proof-70. In fact, no 19th century U.S. coins of any sort has been rated MS-70 or Proof-70 by PCGS or NGC. This Proof 1883 quarter is now in a PCGS holder and it is one of only three Proof-69 Liberty Seated quarters of any date listed in the PCGS population report.
At the Newman sale in New York in 2013, this Proof 1883 quarter went for $47,000. Later, it was certified by PCGS as Proof-68+ Cameo and verified by CAC. Shortly before the Simpson I sale on September 17, 2020, though after the Simpson I catalogue was typeset, PCGS upgraded it to Proof-69-Cameo, though it was no longer CAC verified. This Proof 1883 quarter brought $50,400 in Simpson I, thus becoming one of very few Newman silver coins to later be auctioned for more than it brought in November 2013.
The symmetry of the toning on this colorful 1883 quarter is incredible, a startling random occurrence. The obverse has circles of different colors: tan, brown-russet, blue and a blend of orange-russet and green. There are some areas near the rims with darker shades. The whole coin is really cool. In the third part of my online series on ‘The Fabulous Eric Newman Collection,’ which was published on October 9, 2013, I commented upon the history of such natural toning. I quoted David Lange, the leading expert in 20th century coin albums and boards. As director of research for NGC, Lange had access to albums and coin boards that housed many silver coins in the Eric Newman Collection soon after these coins were delivered to NGC for grading. Newman stored bust quarters in the same way. While Superb ‘Mint State’ Capped Bust quarters are not expected to be as beautiful as Superb Proof Liberty Seated quarters, the Newman-Simpson 1833 quarter has fabulous colors. In 2013, it was NGC rated MS-66* and CAC verified. When it was auctioned in January 2021 for $72,000, it was PCGS rated MS-66.
Contact marks and hairlines are beside the point that the colors are incredibly beautiful. The shades of red, blue and apricot leave a lasting impression. There are Kneass (1831-38) Capped Bust quarters that are finer than the Newman-Simpson 1833, though perhaps not one is as colorful.
The PCGS Proof-69-Cameo, Hugon-Simpson 1895 quarter was also in the Simpson III auction in January 2021. When it was in the
John Hugon Collection, it was in an NGC holder, and it realized $36,800 on January 12, 2005. In 2021, this 1895 quarter brought $43,200. I feel lucky to have had been able to see it in 2005 and again in 2021. While the 69 grade is debatable, this is a terrific looking coin. Like most of the quarters mentioned already, it is much more attractive ‘in hand’ than it seems to be in catalogue pictures. Also, most of the Proofs mentioned have thick and powerful mirrors that cannot be seen in pictures.
The blue and brown-russet colors are symmetrical and vibrant on this Proof 1895 quarter.
The frosted design elements glow.
Collectors, fans and coin professionals who appreciate natural tones on classic U.S. silver coins and were fortunate enough to view auction lots in 2020 and early
2021 will be likely to always remember the beautiful quarters from the Pogue and Simpson Collections that were auctioned during the pandemic. I know I will.