One Of Only Three Specimens Known
1838, Choice Proof, perhaps even finer. This is an incred-
ible coin, one of the greatest and most important rarities in the entire John Jay Pittman Collection. It is fully struck with deep mirror fields, a broad border, sharp square edge, and superb medium yellow gold color highlighted with some minor copper toning spots. There are a few light hairlines in the fields, including one horizontal one below the date, as well as some die polishing lines and planchet lines that were not completely eliminated by the minting process. On the reverse, there is a long hairline above the eagle, beginning at the left side of the A in STATES, then running diagonally down to the head of the eagle, along the neck to the wing, and then out below the wing toward the E in AMERICA. There is a lint mark in the field below the second S in STATES and several small lint marks in the left obverse field. The date is repunched with the doubling very clear on the 18; it is less obvious, but still clearly visible on the 3 and the second 8. This is a superb looking coin, one whose eye appeal and general appearance substantially exceed its technical quality. I do not think that there is any other Proof gold coin in all of U.S. numismatics that has the same visual impact as the Proof Eagles of 1838 and 1839. The beauty and balance of this two-year-only design are simply stunning in the Proof format. JJP purchased this coin as part of a large lot from the Farouk sale, Lot 188, for which he paid 195 Egyptian Pounds, which was equivalent in U.S. dollars to approximately $562. After adding the 5% Government tax, JJP paid roughly $590 for the lot which also contained the coins that appear in the next three lots of this sale.
JJP considered this coin to be the premier coin in his incomparable collection of U.S. Proof gold coins. After he had seen the Cardinal Spellman specimen that I purchased in 1973, he asked me to bring it again to the next coin show so that he could compare his coin (this specimen) to the Spellman example. It was quite a thrill for both of us to be able to look at two of the three known Proof 1838 Eagles at the same time. Shortly thereafter, I examined the Proof 1838 Eagle in the Smithsonian Institution so I had the privilege of seeing all three known Proofs in the span of about one month, an experience I will never forget. There are also three known Proofs of the 1839 Eagle of the same type. This means there are only six examples of the type known in Proof, and at least two of those specimens, possibly even three, will never again be available to collectors. The three known Proof 1838 Eagles are as follows.
1. National Numismatic Collection, Smithsonian Institution. Scratches on reverse.
2. John Jay Pittman, the specimen offered here;
Farouk: 188; “J.F. Bell” (Jake Shapiro): 601; Col. E.H.R. Green; Waldo Newcomer; William H. Woodin: 1201; Lorin G. Parmelee: 1082. Choice Proof or finer.
3. Private collector; Pacific Rarities; Jay Miller and Rick Sear; Sixten Erling; Davies-Niewoehner: 612; Fred Davies; Paramount International Coin Corp.; Stanley Kesselman; Francis Cardinal Spellman; Virgil Brand; Lyman Low. Gem Proof, certified as Proof-65 by PCGS.
The three known Proof 1839 Eagles are as follows.
1. National Numismatic Collection, Smithsonian Institution.
2. Harry W. Bass, Jr.; Louis Eliasberg: 1662; John H. Clapp; John S. Jenks: 5735; Lorin G. Parmelee: 1097.
3. Private collector; New England Rare Coin Galleries (1981). Part of a three piece gold Proof set ($2 1/2, $5 and $10) which was located in Eastern Europe by Mark Emory.