1845-O $2.50 MS (PCGS#7739)
March 2021 U.S. Coins Auction
- 拍卖行
- Stack's Bowers
- 批号
- 4140
- 等级
- MS63
- 价格
- 768,927
- 详细说明
- Finest Known 1845-O Quarter Eagle
The Famous Virgil Brand Specimen
1845-O Liberty Head Quarter Eagle. Winter-1, the only known dies. Repunched Date. MS-63 (PCGS). OGH.
Far and away the finest known example of the leading rarity in the New Orleans Mint quarter eagle series. Otherwise satiny surfaces reveal prooflike reflectivity in the fields as the coin dips into a light. Both sides are bathed in rich deep orange-olive patina with a subtle mingling of pinkish-rose iridescence. A touch of softness to the eagle's right leg is noted, but in general this is a sharply struck coin with superior detail for an O-Mint gold coin from the 1840s. Expertly preserved and fully Choice in quality, this phenomenal coin would serve as a highlight in even the finest Southern gold cabinet.
A curious issue from a historic standpoint, the mintage for the 1845-O was not recorded in the Mint Director's report for 1845. This is because the entire mintage of 4,000 coins was achieved on January 22, 1846. The issue was apparently unknown to collectors until publicized in the December 1894 issue of The Numismatist. Its popularity with specialists has grown ever since, the famous Texas dealer B. Max Mehl doing a particularly good job at promoting this issue and its rarity. Today the 1845-O is widely regarded as the most elusive New Orleans Mint quarter eagle, rarer even than many of the more highly regarded Charlotte and Dahlonega mint issues of its era. Doug Winter (Gold Coins of the New Orleans Mint, 2020 edition) accounts for only 70 to 80 coins extant in all grades, and he ranks the present example as CC#1 by a full two grading points. It is far and away the most famous, most desirable 1845-O quarter eagle in today's hobby.
Writing for an earlier generation of numismatists, David W. Akers observed of this issue: "The best specimens that I have seen are the two AU pieces listed below [coins appearing in auctions held by Paramount an Superior], but the majority of known specimens grade in the Very Fine range."
When we (Bowers and Ruddy) cataloged the Eliasberg Collection of United States gold coins in 1982, we described the example offered therein as follows:
"1845-O AU-50 with much original mint luster. Only 4,000 pieces minted, the lowest recorded figure for any New Orleans Mint quarter eagle.
"One of the finest known examples, if not absolutely the finest known. A rare prize which should excite many specialists."
At that time we were not aware of the Virgil Brand Collection specimen, nor was David Akers. Thus, the "discovery" of the present coin in the Brand Estate in 1983 was a major event for gold specialists.
Provenance: From the A.J. Vanderbilt Collection. Earlier ex J.C. Mitchelson, March 1909; Virgil Brand; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Virgil Brand Collection, Part I, October 1983, lot 110; our (Bowers and Merena's) Bebee Collection sale, August 1987, lot 538; Ronald W. Brown; Heritage's sale of the Ronald W. Brown Acadiana Collection, August 1999 ANA Signature Sale, lot 7836; Heritage Rare Coin Galleries and Douglas Winter Numismatics.
PCGS Population: 1; 0 finer. There are no examples of this issue certified finer than MS-62 by NGC.
PCGS# 7739. NGC ID: 25GY.
Click here for certification details from PCGS.
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