DALLAS, TX.- A 1927-D Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, MS65+ PCGS. CAC, the rarest regular-issue copper, silver or gold 20th-century American coin, sold for $3.84 million to lead Heritage’s January 15-19 FUN US Coins Signature® Auction to $62,679,159.
That total, along with the $12,831,321 FUN US Currency Signature® Auction headlined by America’s Inaugural Federal Reserve Note Proof Archive and a Fr. 2220-G $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Choice Uncirculated 64, each of which realized $456,000, and the $2,768,760 auction of The COL Steven K. Ellsworth Collection of Large Cents 1796-1814 brought the total of Heritage’s FUN numismatic events to $78,279,240, making it one of the largest ever held.
Those impressive results, combined with the NYINC World & Ancient Coins Auction that concludes this week, will help lift Heritage’s numismatic auction events past $100 million in the first three weeks of 2025.
“I am always astounded by the popularity of Heritage’s FUN sale and impressed by the depth of our bidder base to absorb so many wonderful numismatic rarities at solid prices” says Todd Imhof, Executive Vice President. “From the seven-figure coins to the records that were set and the extraordinary featured collections, these events underscored Heritage’s position as the premier destination for the most serious of collectors of rare coins and currency.”
The finest of only seven known examples of a 1798 Capped Bust Right Half Eagle, AU55 PCGS drew more than two dozen bids on its way to $3,000,000, eclipsing the previous auction record of $1.98 million that was set at Heritage just last year. This magnificent coin is among the extraordinary selections from The Bruce S. Sherman Collection, Part I (more coins from this elite collection will be offered during the CSNS US Coins Signature® Auction April 30-May 4). The 1798 Small Eagle half eagle is among the rarest and most enigmatic issues in all of American numismatics; of the seven known examples, two are included in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, forever out of reach of even the most advanced collectors. No Mint State specimens are known, and the Choice AU coin offered here is the single-finest certified example.
Sherman, the chairman and principal owner of the Miami Marlins, assembled a collection that is considered among the elite assemblages in all of numismatics. This remarkable trove produced numerous trophy-level coins in the auction, including three more that yielded seven-figure results.
Eager bidders drove an 1894-S Barber Dime, Branch Mint PR66 PCGS. CAC from his collection to $2.16 million, surpassing the previous auction record of $1,997,500 that was set at Heritage in 2016. A classic rarity in American coinage, the 1894-S Barber dime often is grouped with the 1804 dollar and the 1913 Liberty nickel as “The Big Three” of United States numismatic rarities. The 1894-S is the most famous, mysterious and elusive coin in the entire Barber series. No more than nine examples of the 1894-S are known to collectors today, and the coin sold in this auction is tied for finest-certified at PCGS, an important consideration for Registry Set purposes.
Also from the Sherman Collection, the finest known specimen of an 1849-C Open Wreath Gold Dollar, MS62 PCGS. Winter 1 reached $1.56 million to more than double the previous auction record of $690,000 — a standard that had stood for 20 years. An essential for any registry set, this beauty is a magnificent example of one of the rarest and most valuable coins in the U.S. gold series.
A gorgeous 1884 Trade Dollar, PR65 PCGS. CAC, the third-finest of just 10 known specimens, sold for $1.14 million to tie the auction record that was set at Heritage in 2019. Its scarcity puts it alongside the 1804 dollar and the 1913 Liberty nickel among elusive American coins. This coin previously has held a spot in several well-known collections, including that of Jack Lee, who compiled one of the finest collections of silver dollars ever assembled.
Other top results from the Sherman Collection include, but are not limited to:
• A 1792 Silver Center Cent, Judd-1, SP45+ PCGS. CAC: $576,000
• An 1873-CC No Arrows Quarter, MS63 PCGS: $360,000
• An 1853-O No Arrows Half Dollar, Good 6 PCGS. CAC: $288,000
• A 1796 Capped Bust Right Quarter Eagle, AU55 PCGS: $204,000
The $3.84 million 1927-D Saint-Gaudens double eagle MS65+ that produced the event’s top result was part of the Mississippi Collection of Double Eagles, a trove of exceptional $20 gold coins that also included an 1883 Double Eagle, PR66 Deep Cameo PCGS that brought $492,000, surpassing the previous auction record of $348,000 that was set at Heritage in 2024. The second-finest among just 92 proof-only examples, it surfaced first in Ed Frossard’s catalog of the Howard Newcomb and Edmund R. Wolcott Collections in May 1901. It previously was a part of the collections of John M. Clapp and later Louis E. Eliasberg.
Another prized rarity from the Mississippi Collection of Double Eagles was an 1893 Liberty Twenty, PR64“star” Ultra Cameo PCGS that ended at $300,000. The second-finest among just 59 Specimens struck, it is a stellar example of this rare Type Three Liberty double eagle. PCGS CoinFacts estimates the surviving population at 15-20 examples in all grades.
Another rarity from the collection was an 1887 Liberty Double Eagle, PR64+ Deep Cameo PCGS that closed at $276,000. One of the rarest and most popular of the Type Three series, the 1887 was produced only in proof format after the Philadelphia Mint was required to devote most of its resources to striking large numbers of Morgan dollars throughout the 1880s, which shifted the production of high denomination gold coins to the San Francisco Mint. A mintage of 121 proof Liberty double eagles was struck in 1887.
Other top results from the Mississippi Collection of Double Eagles included, but were not limited to:
• A 1905 Double Eagle, PR65+ Ultra Cameo NGC: $264,000
• A 1910 Saint-Gaudens Twenty, PR66 NGC CAC: $252,000
• An 1884 Double Eagle, PR64+ Cameo PCGS: $252,000
From the Casady Collection, an 1863 Liberty Double Eagle, PR65 NGC, an extremely rare issue in proof format from a reported mintage of just 30, sold for $480,000. John Dannreuther and PCGS CoinFacts both estimate the surviving population at 10-12 specimens, including some in impaired condition. Two are in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution and another is included in the collection of the American Numismatic Society.
The Casady Collection also produced a pair of impressive gold ingots: a 130.68-ounce Kellogg & Humbert Gold Ingot that brought $348,000, and a 112.10-ounce Harris, Marchand Gold Ingot that shimmered at $312,000.
Another highlight that was not part of a named collection was the sole finest known 1876-S Liberty Half Eagle, MS65 PCGS CAC that achieved $336,000 in its first auction appearance since 1979. PCGS and NGC have combined to certify 74 examples of this issue in all grades, with five specimens in Mint State, including a number of resubmissions and crossovers. The piece sold at FUN was the former Garrett coin.
The auction also featured selections from the Whispering Pines Collection, a 151-lot trove that is the finest PCGS Registry Set of Lincoln Wheat cents ever assembled. Highlights from the collection included, but were not limited to:
• A 1943 Bronze Cent, AU55 PCGS. CAC: $264,000
• A 1944 Zinc-Coated Steel Cent, MS64: $168,000
• A 1909-S VDB Cent, MS67 Red PCGS: $99,000
• A 1955 Doubled Die Obverse Lincoln Cent MS65 Red PCGS. CAC: $90,000
Another prominent collection featured in the auction was the Towers Collection, Part II, with U.S. half dollar types ranging from Flowing Hair to Walking Liberty and even a selection of more than 600 Capped Bust halves covering most varieties and die states. Among the top results from the collection was a 1796 O-102 Half Dollar, VF35 PCGS that ended at $102,000.
The finest certified example of a 1911-D Quarter Eagle, MS66+ PCGS CAC, from The Don Kutz California Collection, climbed to $312,000 to break the previous auction record of $204,000 that was set at Heritage in 2022. Other highlights from the collection included:
• A 1911-D Indian Half Eagle, MS65 PCGS: $312,000
• A 1914 Indian Quarter Eagle, MS67 PCGS: $168,000
• A 1913-S Indian Half Eagle, MS66 PCGS: $162,000
COL Steven K. Ellsworth Collection of US Large Cents
The FUN events kicked off January 9 with this magnificent collection that featured every one of the Sheldon number varieties from 1796 through 1814.
Leading the way was a 1799 S-189 Cent, XF45 PCGS. CAC that drew a winning bid of $210,000. The famous “Abbey” cent has a provenance of 180 years, one of the longest unbroken ownership chains for a US large cent. More importantly, it is the finest that CAC has approved, and has been called the most important 1799 cent.
Also reaching six figures was a 1799/8 Cent S-188 R4, Overdate 9 over 8, XF40 PCGS that ended at $150,000.
Other highlights from the collection included:
• An 1801 S-217 Cent, AU58 PCGS: $78,000
• A 1798 S-144 Cent, AU50 PCGS: $56,400
• An 1801 S-219 Cent, MS61 Brown PCGS: $48,000
• An 1804 S-266 Original Cent, AU53 PCGS: $45,600
Currency
The America’s Inaugural Federal Reserve Note Proof Archive came from the The Charlton Buckley Collection, a trove of nearly 400 lots that featured one of the foremost collections of California Nationals and notes, including California Gold Bank Notes, and Federal Reserve Notes ever assembled. The archive once belonged to Albert Grinnell, whose collection was believed to be one of the finest and most complete ever assembled; he considered this set, which featured rare $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 denominations, the “Crowning Masterpiece” of his collection.
“This archive is one of a kind,” says Dustin Johnston, Vice President of Currency at Heritage Auctions. “Heritage has sold presentation sets of Federal Reserve notes before, but the denominations in those stopped at $100. This one, however, includes the $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 denominations that are so eagerly collected by top collectors. Those would have a lot of appeal even if they were broken out into separate lots, but to have them all in one set like this is absolutely a unique prize.”
The Fr. 2220-G $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 is a beautifully preserved example of a rare denomination and is the finest Fr. 2220-G graded by PMG. More importantly, PMG has graded 22 Series 1928 $5,000 notes with only one earning a higher or equal grade, a PMG 65 EPQ Fr. 2220-E that sold in 2024, also at Heritage Auctions.
A Fr. 2 $5 1861 Demand Note PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ closed at $396,000. It is one of 64 Fr. 2 notes examined by PMG and stands alone as the highest PMG-graded example by 25 grade points.
Large-denomination notes always are in high demand, and that was the case for a Fr. 2230-F $10,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Choice Very Fine 35 that is a new serial number for the census — serial F00000100A — and was the very first Series 1928 $10,000 that Currency Auctions of America ever offered, climbed to $336,000. PMG has graded from among all districts only seven Series 1928 $10,000 notes: Richmond (2), Atlanta (4) and Kansas City, compared to 113 Series 1934 $10,000s.
One of just 11 Fr. 2221-H $5,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 EPQ notes graded PMG, from a total of 110 for the entire Series 1934, drew $312,000. For this Friedberg number, PMG has graded just two equal and only one higher ... and that by a single grade point.
Other top results included, but were not limited to:
• A unique Fr. 2220-K $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Very Fine 25: $192,000
• A newly discovered Fr. 2221-E $5,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note. PMG About Uncirculated 55: $186,000
• A Fr. 167a $100 1863 Legal Tender PMG Choice Very Fine 35: $156,000
• A Santa Barbara, CA - $100 1873 Fr. 1164 The First National Gold Bank Ch. # 2104 PMG Fine 12 — unique for the bank: $150,000
• A Fr. 174 $100 1880 Legal Tender PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 — the finest known Fr. 174 1880 $100 legal tender
