DALLAS, TX.- Elite private collections, an array with quantity and quality rarely seen at any auction, have the potential to make Heritage’s January 15-19 FUN US Coins Signature® Auction among the top numismatic events ever held.

Among the top attractions is the collection of Bruce Sherman, the chairman and principal owner of the Miami Marlins who also is a passionate historian with a keen interest in numismatics.

“Bruce Sherman’s coin collection stands as one of the most remarkable achievements in numismatics, a testament not only to his passion but to his extraordinary eye for quality and rarity,” says Heritage Auctions President Greg Rohan. “We are immensely proud to present these treasures to the collecting community, as this once-in-a-lifetime offering is sure to captivate and inspire collectors around the world.”

Among the top offerings in the collection is an 1894-S Barber Dime, Branch Mint PR66 PCGS. CAC that is a classic rarity in American coinage, often grouped with the 1804 dollar and the 1913 Liberty nickel as “The Big Three” of United States numismatic rarities. The 1894-S also is the most famous, mysterious and elusive coin in the entire Barber series. No more than nine, and possibly only eight, examples of the 1894-S are known to collectors today, and the coin offered in this auction is tied for finest-certified at PCGS, an important consideration for Registry Set purposes. Its provenance is extraordinary, with previous stints in the collections of John M. Clapp, Louis Eisenberg and James A. Stack.

Also from Sherman’s collection comes a 1792 Silver Center Cent, Judd-1, SP45+ PCGS CAC, a bimetallic coin that is as historically important as just about any American coin. This coin was discovered by a contractor during a building renovation in Doylestown, Pennsylvania in 1965. Just 12 examples are known to collectors, making the Silver Center cent a landmark rarity in the pattern series. One is included in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, further reducing the availability of the issue.

Also in play is an exceptional collection of $20 gold coins from the Mississippi Collection of Double Eagles built over more than half a century by a collector who understood the importance of condition, completeness and rarity. Double eagles are of utmost importance to serious collectors of elite American coins, who will find all of the key dates, and in top condition, in this collection.

Among the top offerings in the collection is a 1927-D Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, MS65+ PCGS. CAC that is the rarest regular-issue copper, silver or gold 20th-century American coin. It is one of just seven examples likely within reach of the collecting public, and one of an entire surviving population of just 12 or 13.

Also available is the second-finest among just 92 proof-only examples struck of an 1883 Double Eagle, PR66 Deep Cameo PCGS that first surfaced in Ed Frossard’s catalog of the Howard Newcomb and Edmund R. Wolcott Collections in May of 1901, in which it was described simply as, “1883 Brilliant proof.” It was sold for $22 to Clapp, whose collection was passed down after his death to his son, John H. Clapp, who kept it until he died in 1940. The Clapp Estate sold the collection intact to Baltimore financier Louis E. Eliasberg in a record-setting private transaction in 1942.

Only one example of the 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle is legal to own, making the 1932 Saint-Gaudens Twenty, MS64 PCGS CAC the final collectible issue of the extremely popular series. Despite a substantial reported mintage of more than 1.1 million pieces, the 1932 double eagle is one of the most elusive issues of the entire series. The offered example is one of just 33 graded in 64 (four in 64+), with only 43 finer.

Don Kutz California Collection

What started as a childhood fascination with Buffalo nickels grew into an exceptional trove that produced 41 lots of Indian Head gold pieces in the auction. Kutz would pay his friends six cents for every Buffalo nickel they found and brought to him, a hobby that sparked a deep passion for higher-end coins. The auction includes his prized Indian gold PCGS Registry sets: his Indian Head $2-1/2 Gold Basic Set, Circulation Strikes (1908-29) collection has been named No. 1 All-Time Finest (All Eras) and No. 1 Current Finest, and his Indian Head $5 Gold, Circulation Strikes (1908-20) collection is ranked No. 3 All-Time Finest (All Eras) and No. 2 Current Finest. Each collection is 100% complete, encompassing top spots within the Condition Census for virtually every date and Mint, and many coins in each collection are CAC-approved. Top offerings from the Kutz collection, which will be offered in its own standalone catalog and floor session, include but are not limited to:

• A 1911-D Quarter Eagle, MS66+ PCGS. CAC
• A 1929 Indian Five Dollar, MS65 PCGS. CAC

Whispering Pines Collection

The culmination of a lifetime spent collecting a timeless series that has captivated generations of numismatists over more than a century is the finest PCGS Registry Set of Lincoln Wheat cents ever assembled, a trove from which 151 lots will be offered in their own standalone session. The collection includes conditional and absolute rarities, including but not limited to:

• A 1943 Lincoln Cent Struck on a Bronze Planchet AU55 PCGS. CAC that once was a part of the Donald Partrick Collection

• A 1944 Lincoln Cent Struck on a Zinc-Coated Steel Planchet MS64 PCGS — a rare transitional alloy error

• A 1916 Lincoln Cent, MS68 Red PCGS

• A 1947-S Lincoln Cent, MS68 Red PCGS

Towers Collection, Part II

Another incredible collection in the auction, with U.S. half dollar types that range from Flowing Hair to Walking Liberty and even a breathtaking assemblage of 624 Capped Bust halves covering most varieties and die states, is the Towers Collection, Part II. This remarkable assemblage will open the auction with 783 lots in a standalone session. Towers Collection highlights include, but are not limited to:

• A 1796 O-102 Half Dollar, VF35 PCGS
• A 1794 O-101 Half Dollar, VF25 PCGS
• A 1820 O-107 No Serifs Half Dollar, AU50
• A 1812/1 O-101a Half Dollar, VF20 CAC

COL Steven K. Ellsworth Collection of US Large Cents 1796-1814

Coins from this 232-lot collection, which will be offered January 9 as part of the FUN Convention in Orlando, feature every one of the Sheldon number varieties from 1796 through 1814 (the Mint switched from the Liberty Capped Bust design to the Draped Bust design in 1796). Many of the coins in this collection are the finest known, or at least among the finest known examples. Among the treasures to be found in the collection:

• A 1799 S-189 R2 XF45 PCGS, CAC Approved — the famous “Abbey” cent that is the finest that CAC has approved, and has been called the most important 1799 cent

• An 1801 S-217 R6+ AU58 PCGS that is the finest known example of this very rare variety

• A 1798 S-178 R5+, Style II Hair, Reverse of 1795, VF35 PCGS that is the discovery coin for the variety, first identified by Philadelphia large cent collector James A. Walker

• An 1803 S-264 R4+, Large Date, Small Fraction, VF20 PCGS — one of just two examples graded in VF20 of a “Famous Four” variety that is one of the keys to a “Redbook” set of early cents

Other featured collections in the auction include, but are not limited to:

• The Drumwright Family Collection: dubbed “all gold, all the time” — focused on Liberty Head half eagles, eagles and double eagles, with an emphasis on better branch mint dates and conditionally rare Philadelphia issues. Of the 157 offered lots, 56 appear in Thursday’s Platinum II session, and the rest in Friday evenings’s Floor Session 9. Highlights include an 1857-S Twenty Dollar, MS67 PCGS. CAC, an 1861-C Five Dollar Liberty, AU58 PCGS. CAC and an 1864-S Ten Dollar, VF30 PCGS. CAC.

• The Casady Collection: the ultimate example of “quality over quantity,” it features just three lots — three exceptional lots — from a frequent Heritage consignor of important US. Gold issues and Territorial gold. In play in this auction are a Civil War rarity, an 1863 Liberty double eagle that is one of just 30 pieces struck; a 112.10-troy ounce Harris, Marchand gold ingot and a massive (130.68-troy ounce) Kellogg & Humbert gold ingot — both from the S.S. Central America.

• The Charlton Buckley Collection: a 478-lot assemblage that is spread across multiple series and denominations from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, it has plenty to offer the most serious Seated Liberty, Barber, Standing Liberty, Walking Liberty and Buffalo nickel collectors; with both proof and circulation strike formats, a majority of the coins grade in the MS64-MS67 or PR64-PR67 ranges. Included in this collection are a 1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Octagonal MS62 PCGS, a 1926-D Standing Liberty Quarter MS66 Full Head PCGS. CAC and an 1872-S Seated Quarter MS66 PCGS. CAC.

• JDR Tommy Creek Collection: a true numismatic time capsule built decades ago that focused on gathering the finest available specimens of the Standing Liberty quarter; Full Head-designated specimens were sought, in part for the extra value they added to the collection, and despite the challenges presented in locating them. The collection holds the ranking of No. 7 All-Time finest Standing Liberty FH Quarters With Major Varieties PCGS Registry Set, and No. 3 Current finest in the same category. Anchors of the collection include a 1927-S Quarter, MS64 Full Head PCGS, a 1919-D Quarter, MS66 Full Head PCGS and a 1920-S Quarter, MS66 Full Head PCGS.

• The McCoy Family Collection: Paul McCoy has been one of the most prominent and savvy collectors over the past few decades, having completed numerous sets across nearly all denominations of gold coinage. Included in this special offering is something for every connoisseur — from early copper to rare gold to Patterns — most notably a few incredible early gold issues in proof: an 1831 Proof Quarter Eagle, an 1834 Proof Classic Quarter Eagle and an 1834 Proof Classic Half Eagle.

“The quality and quantity of material in this year’s FUN make it very possible that this will be among the best numismatic auctions ever held,” says Todd Imhof, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. “The breadth and depth of the event is extraordinary, with nearly two dozen Featured Collections, seven standalone catalogs, and as many as six individual coins that could cross the million dollar threshold. It is nothing short of incredible to have a single event with so many high-caliber collections and legendary rarities.”

The Featured Collections in the auction are as fertile as any, but to suggest that all the event’s prizes can be found in those assemblages would do an injustice to the other standalone treasures that will find new homes once they cross the auction block. Among them:

• An 1876-S Liberty Half Eagle, MS65 PCGS. CAC is the finest known example of one of the rarest and most underrated issues of the long and popular series with a token mintage of just 4,000. PCGS and NGC have combined to certify just 74 examples of this issue in all grades; the one offered in this auction is one of just five graded in Mint State.

• A 1931 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, MS65 PCGS. CAC is a classic late-series rarity that was produced in large numbers, but the issue is among the rarest dates of the series today. It was acquired by the consignor as a gift from her Sunday school teacher, neither of whom had any knowledge of the coin’s rarity.

• An 1879 Flowing Hair Stella, PR65 PCGS is a magnificent example of one of the most popular issues in the history of American coinage, one that is listed among the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. Technically a pattern (Judd-1635), traditionally the stellas have also been collected as trophy coins and type issues by a wide range of collectors, whose demand for high-end examples far exceeds the surviving population of a few hundred.

• A 1907 $20 High Relief, Wire Rim, MS67 PCGS. CAC is a Superb Gem example of this exceptionally popular coin. Saint-Gaudens' High Relief double eagle was beloved by its creators and the public at the time of its coinage, but the Mint struggled to produce the design in full detail with a single die impression, and multiple strikes from the dies were necessary to bring up the details. After the coins were released into circulation, it was revealed that only 12,367 examples of the High Relief issue were struck before the relief was lowered.

• An 1803 Draped Bust Dime, JR-3, MS64 PCGS. CAC has been acknowledged for years as the finest known example. The PCGS Population Report (all varieties) lists only two coins in Mint State grades: a single MS61 example and this coin in MS64, while NGC reports one coin in MS61 and a single example in MS63. This coin set the auction prices realized record for the issue when it brought $322,000 … in 2008, and it has been off the market for the last nine years.

• An 1881 Double Eagle MS60 NGC is a gorgeous low-mintage rarity, one of just 10 examples known in Mint State from an original mintage of just 2,199 struck.