Collectors will find the 1908 to be among the most plentiful Indian half eagles in Gem and better condition, even while some other dates such as the 1909-D are more available overall. The higher Gem population of the 1908 is due to the first-year-of-issue status of this date, which historically resulted in more widespread preservation of examples due to the novelty of the new design. Even so, the 1908 Indian is conditionally rare in MS66, and just a handful of finer pieces are known.
Although heavily touted as a conditionally scarce date in Mint State, the 1883-S Morgan remains collectible in grades through MS64, and is frequently offered at auction in that range. It is the Gem grade level from where this issue draws its recognition. In MS65, the 1883-S Morgan is a grand rarity in absolute numbers, and in the context of the series, is truly rare. Including possible resubmissions, there are fewer than three dozen Gem or finer examples seen by the leading certification services.
The NGC population is 12 (3 of which have been designated “Star”) with 3 graded higher.
Listed at $28,800 in the CDN CPG and $30,000 in the NGC price guide.
Only 8,875 quarters were struck in 1884 including 875 proofs, one of the lowest total production runs in the entire Seated quarter series. While this PR68 Cameo specimen is especially rare as a Proof, it is a piece of singular beauty and conditionally quite rare. Brilliant, glassy-mirrored silver fields surround frost-white devices on both sides of this exceptional example .
The NGC population is 3 with 2 graded higher.
Listed at $11,200 in the CDN CPG and $14,500 in the NGC price guide.
The Carson City Mint opened for business in 1870. That year, it struck 11,758 silver dollars and 54,617 half dollars. From those figures, one might conclude that the 1870-CC dollar is rarer than its half dollar counterpart. But more dollars were set aside, and the 1870-CC half is certainly the greater rarity, as can be confirmed by both the NGC and PCGS Population reports. It is, in fact, the rarest Carson City half dollar issue.
The NGC population is a mere 2 with 6 graded higher.
Listed at $38,400 in the CDN CPG and $44,500 in the NGC price guide.
The most famous issue of the one cent denomination from the 1850s is the key 1856 Flying Eagle cent that was issued in extremely limited quantities during the transition from the large copper cents that were issued from 1793 to 1857. The Mint was looking for an alternative to the bulky and expensive-to-produce cents of prior years. After numerous trials, they settled on the small size that remains the same today, and they chose a composition of 88% copper and 12% nickel. The new composition resulted in a coin that was much lighter in appearance than the earlier coins.
Snow-9 is the typical variety encountered among proof 1856 Flying Eagle cents. Its availability, though, does not lessen its appeal to collectors, most of whom simply want a single, attractive example of this key date. The variety is also conditionally scarce at the Gem grade level, and it is rare finer.
The NGC population is only 3 with 2 graded higher.
Listed at $60,000 in the CDN CPG and $62,500 in the NGC price guide.
Numismatists are familiar with Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ eagle and double eagle, but his oeuvre included statues, bas-reliefs, medallions, cameos, and works in other media. As a teenager he began his career with an apprenticeship to a cameo-cutter before he left for Paris in 1867. Although he was able to make some money selling cameos in New York City, by his own accounts they did not sell well in Paris, where other artists were more skillful. Saint-Gaudens would soon create works on a grander scale, but his experience with cameo-cutting would come in handy when he was commissioned to design medals and, later, coins.
It is impossible to say which of Saint-Gaudens’ many works was the most important, but certainly his statue of General William Tecumseh Sherman is one of the most lauded, and the figure of Victory (Nike) in the monument would later be used as a model for the double eagle. This statue also brought Saint-Gaudens into contact with Roosevelt, who was vice president at the time, and their collaboration would later result in the beginning of the American coinage renaissance.
Saint-Gaudens wanted his statue of Sherman to be positioned near Grant’s Tomb, which was completed in 1897, for artistic and historical reasons. Roger Burdette (2006) writes, “After a chance meeting on a train returning from the Buffalo Exhibition in May 1901, he sought the intervention of vice-president Theodore Roosevelt in an attempt to secure his preferred location of the statue.”
Although Roosevelt was unsuccessful and the statue was placed at the southeastern corner of New York’s Central Park, he did not forget his encounter with Saint-Gaudens. Less than four years later, Roosevelt would ask Saint-Gaudens to redesign some of the country’s coins. The coins were Saint-Gaudens’ final project, and the 1907 High Relief double eagle was the fitting capstone to the artist’s distinguished career.
The physical perfection of this coin makes one realize why Theodore Roosevelt was so proud of these pieces and why he used them for presentation purposes.
Most 1907 High Reliefs are a pleasure to behold. This one, however, is (even) much better than that!
The NGC population is 20 (two of which have been designated “Star” by NGC) with 5 graded higher.
Listed at $312,000 in the CDN CPG and $290,000 in the NGC price guide.
Like other gold denominations, gold dollars were minted in generous quantities in 1861, a year that saw a large influx of the yellow metal from out West. After the outbreak of the Civil War, gold and silver were quickly driven out of circulation by hoarding, so it is unsurprising to find that the 1861, with its mintage of 527,150 pieces, is readily collectible in Mint State grades through MS62 and MS63. Even near-Gems do not pose much of an issue. The certified population thins out in MS65 and drops precipitously beyond that.
The PCGS population is only 3 with 1 graded higher, the latter being an MS67+ example.
Listed at $24,000 in the CDN CPG and $30,000 in the PCGS price guide.
The Sherman Silver Purchase Act, passed in July 1890, replaced the Bland-Allison Act as the authorizing legislation for the Morgan silver dollar. The law provided for the purchase of some 54 million troy ounces of silver annually from Western mining interests. As could be expected with such a supply of bullion, silver dollar production in 1890 was substantial throughout the year, with more than 16 million coins ultimately produced. These were paid out gradually over many years, with the final distribution being in the Treasury releases of the early 1960s. Careless preservation, then, ended up being a major factor in the rarity of high-grade examples, as the date is readily available in grades through MS65. But that’s where the availability stops.
The NGC population is only 10 with none graded higher.
Listed at $15,000 in both the CDN CPG and the NGC price guide.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, better known as Caracalla, was a promising son of emperor Septimius Severus. Born at Lugdunum in 188 AD while his father was governor of the province, his youth was spent as the groomed son and heir apparent of Septimius, and many honors were bestowed upon him at the expense of his brother Geta. After their father’s passing in February of 211, the brothers embarked upon a contentius joint rule that lasted less than a year and ended in the fratricidal murder of Geta.
Caracalla was now free to live out his fantasies as the reincarnation of Alexander the Great, and embarked upon his campaign to conquer neighboring empires, as Alexander had done centuries before. In 214 AD he commenced war against the Alemanni, a German confederation, and he began to wear the caracallus, a hooded cloak from which his nickname derives. After successes in this campaign, Caracalla conquered the Danubian Capri, and began preparation for his invasion of Persia, another goal in imitation of Alexander. At Troy, Caracalla sponsored military parades to honor the fallen heroes of the Trojan War and acted out portions of Homer’s Iliad – with himself playing the role of Achilles, the greatest of Greek mythological warriors. Visiting the tomb of Alexander in Alexandria, he sought cures for his illnesses and for reasons unknown, decided to massacre tens of thousands of unarmed citizens. Now completely unhinged, Caracalla headed east to commence his much anticipated Parthian campaign, but was killed en route to Mesopotamia by a disgruntled soldier who was probably also concerned for his life, his praetorian prefect and successor, Macrinus.
We are fortunate to have on offer today a high grade and rare example of Caracalla’s gold coinage, an aureus in AU condition, graded by NGC. Superbly centered and lustrous, it features a strong portrait and has the excellent rating of 5/5 for both Strike and Surface.
American gold coins had assumed a prominent role in international commerce in the years leading up to the Great War. With the sudden disruption of commerce in 1914, overall demand for double eagles fell, and the combined production for all three Mints fell from just over 2 million pieces to under a million in 1915. Of the two Mints that struck double eagles for that year, Philadelphia produced fewer coins, with a mintage of just 152,000 coins.
The NGC population is 40 with only 1 graded higher.
Listed at $27,600 in the CDN CPG and $31,500 in the NGC price guide.
Offered at $25,300
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