DALLAS, TX.- A magnificent example of the rarer B-1 variety of a 1796 quarter will be among the top attractions at Heritage’s April 3-6 US Coins Signature® Auction.

The offered 1796 Quarter Dollar, MS61 PCGS comes from the Frost Collection and is among the rarest of its kind.

“The B-1 is the rarer variety, especially for those examples graded in Mint State, with about one-third as many examples as there are of the B-2,” says Todd Imhof, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. “This example is extraordinary, tied at the low end of the Rea-Polizio-Moulton Census, behind only four MS63 examples and one MS66 coin.”

From a low original mintage, perhaps as many as 100 Mint State 1796 quarters remain in existence, but considering the many factors that make this issue eminently collectible, there are not nearly enough Uncirculated examples to satisfy demand, making examples like the one offered in this auction exceedingly appealing to serious collectors.

The Frost Collection is an elite assemblage of high-grade early silver and copper type coins, with numerous offerings that are aggressively sought by collectors. Of the 64 lots from the collection in the auction, 23 appear in Thursday’s Premier Session. Other highlights from the collection include, but are not limited to Proof Indian Cents — one PR66 PCGS from 1862 and a PR68 PCGS Red and Brown from 1885 — as well as nearly a dozen Standing Liberty Quarters, including a beautiful 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter, MS66 PCGS and a 1919 Quarter, MS67 Full Head PCGS

An 18th-century rarity, a coin that can act like an irresistible magnet to the most serious of early dollar specialists and advance type collectors, is available in the form of a 1795 Flowing Hair, Three Leaves, B-5, BB-27 Dollar, AU58 PCGS. CAC that is a borderline Mint State coin. Any Flowing Hair dollar that even approaches Uncirculated condition is going to generate considerable demand, making this example an absolute must-have for any serious early dollar specialist’s collection.

An 1895 Morgan Dollar, PR64 PCGS is a coveted prize that is known today only in proof format. Mint documents reflect the coinage in June 1895 of 12,000 standard silver dollars, but no such circulation strikes are known today. If circulation strikes were produced, the most likely answer is that they were melted in the silver dollar destruction brought about by the Pittman Act of 1918, leaving only a limited number of proof coins known today.

Despite a hefty mintage of more than 1.7 million coins, the 1929 double eagle is the first of several scarce issues that marked the end of the Saint-Gaudens series that began in 1907 and concluded in 1933. PCGS CoinFacts estimates that nearly 1,000 of the 1929 double eagles remain, but Heritage experts believe even that estimate is generous, and that the actual survival rate is somewhere between just 350 and 400 — including an MS65 PCGS example that is featured in this auction.

Also in play is the only example PCGS has seen of the ultra-rare LM-3 variety of a 1795 Half Dime, MS63 PCGS. CAC. Traditionally, the Eliasberg LM-3 example, described as MS63 in 1996, was long thought to be the finest for the variety, yet that coin is weakly struck at the lower-left stars and hair strands. This CAC-endorsed example is far sharper in those areas and is notably well-struck on the eagle’s head, neck, breast and legs.

A 1915 Indian Eagle, PR66 NGC is one of just 75 proof examples struck in 1915 by the Philadelphia Mint after commercial proof offerings for gold and silver coins were discontinued after 1915 (and stopped entirely after 1916). David Akers has suggested that some coins might have gone unsold and were subsequently melted, making the 1915 proof Indian eagle even more elusive than its minuscule production might suggest. John Dannreuther estimated a surviving population of just 40-45, while NGC and PCGS have combined to certify just 38, including an unknown number of resubmissions and crossovers. The remaining population that is available to the collecting community is even smaller than the estimated numbers, because two of the coins are included in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

Another important eagle in the auction is a 1912 Indian Eagle PR66 NGC. Mint records indicate the Philadelphia Mint struck 144 proof Indian eagles that year, but the artistic sandblast finish used on proof coins at the time was not appreciated by collectors, precipitating a sharp decline in orders for proof sets. Just 83 proof Indian eagles were sold in 1912, with the remainder melted for recoinage. The offered example is one of what Dannreuther estimated to be just 60-70 remaining examples, one of just nine carrying a grade of 66 (with only five graded higher).

Instructions from treasury officials to the Philadelphia Mint to concentrate on production of half eagles and eagles during the 1880s led to low production totals, including 2,199 circulation strike double eagles in 1881. PCGS Coinfacts estimates 67 survivors, while the estimate recorded on its population report is 40-60 — one of which, a beautiful 1881 Double Eagle, AU53 PCGS, is among the attractions in this auction.

Other top lots in the auction include, but are not limited to:

• An 1851 Humbert Reeded Edge Fifty Dollar, XF40 PCGS
• A 1916-D Mercury Dime MS64 Full Bands PCGS
• An 1881-S Silver Dollar, MS69 NGC