DALLAS, TX.- Serious collectors know a must-have treasure when they see one, and that was exactly what happened when a massive Justh & Hunter gold ingot crossed the auction block at Heritage Auctions’ April 30-May 4 CSNS US Coins Signature® Auction in which numerous new auction records were set. The last of 60 bids drove the final result for the ingot to $2.13 million to lead the total for the event to $31,691,002.
That total, when added to the $9,406,921 CSNS US Currency Signature® Auction April 29-May 2 and the $6,666,665 CSNS World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction May 1-2, boosted the total for the events to $47,764,588.
The ingot that led the U.S. Coins event, from The Marcello and Luciano Collection, is a behemoth, measuring 218 mm (nearly 8.6 inches) and weighing in 649.15 troy ounces, or just over 44.5 pounds.
“This is a magnificent result for a magnificent treasure, the second-largest ingot from the S.S. Central America that ever has been brought to auction,” says Todd Imhof, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. “It is one of just 13 in the Colossal Size weight class (more than 500 ounces), and an appropriate leader for this event.”
The ingot was just one of four lots that topped $1 million, the other three coming from The Bruce S. Sherman Collection, Part II, a treasure trove assembled by Sherman, Chairman and principal owner of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins, that has been called “one of the most remarkable achievements in numismatics.”
The top lot from the Sherman collection was an 1835 HM-5, JD-1 Half Eagle, PR67+ Deep Cameo PCGS. CAC that is the finest of just three known examples and climbed to $1.8 million, smashing the previous auction record of $822,500. Few proof Classic Head half eagles are known, and of those, the example from the Sherman collection is believed to be finest, regardless of date. Of the 20 on Heritage’s roster, five are museum pieces, including one in the British Museum and four in the Smithsonian.
Another seven-figure record-setter was a 1792 Copper Disme, Judd-11, MS64 Red and Brown PCGS. CAC from the Sherman collection that drew 43 bids before ending at $1.5 million, surpassing the previous auction record of $1,057,500 set by Heritage in 2015. It is the finest by a wide margin of just three known examples of an outstanding rarity in the U.S. pattern series. The Mint experimented with reeded and plain edges on the copper dismes of this year, and the plain edge pieces are considerably scarcer.
The fourth lot to exceed $1 million was an 1803 Proof Draped Bust Dollar or Novodel, PR66 PCGS that is tied for the finest among just four known survivors and sold for $1.11 million — well above the previous auction record of $851,875 set by Heritage in 2013. Proof silver dollars from 1801-03 are known today as “novodels,” which are among the rarest and most valuable issues in the U.S. federal coinage series.
Another popular coin from the Sherman collection was an 1879 Coiled Hair Stella, Judd-1638, PR62 PGGS, a prize in such high demand that it drew 59 bids before closing at $576,000. Before it was acquired by Sherman, it was part of the famed Richmond Collection.
One of just 16 examples traced of an 1876-CC Twenty Cent Piece, MS64 reached $444,000. A landmark rarity in the U.S. silver series, the 1876-CC twenty cent piece often is mentioned in the same class as the famous 1804 dollar, 1913 Liberty Head nickel, and the 1894-S Barber dime and earned the “Duke of Carson City Coins” moniker from Rusty Goe. This example’s history, before ending up with Sherman, included stops in the collections of Louis E. Eliasberg and Eugene Gardner.
Nearly 100 bids poured in for a 1792 Half Disme, Judd-7, MS64 PCGS before it achieved $432,000. The 1792 half disme is among the most important issues in all of American coinage, was the first circulating coinage struck by the authority of the U.S. Congress, and is listed among the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. The example in this auction has not been offered at auction in more than 20 years.
A 1794 B-1, BB-1 Silver Dollar, XF40 PCGS. CAC, the Gainsborough Specimen of America’s first silver dollar, brought a winning bid of $384,000. One of 10 lots in the auction from The Texas Republic Ranch Collection, it is a magnificent example of one of the historically significant pieces of American coinage, each personally handled by Mint Director David Rittenhouse.
A 1798 Draped Bust Small Eagle Dollar, MS62 PCGS brought $360,000. That figure surpassed the previous auction record of $216,000 for a 1798 Small Eagle, 15 Stars dollar that was set by Heritage in 2024, and also set a new auction record for any 1798 Small Eagle dollar.
World Currency
Leading the results in the currency event was a Fr. 2231-A $10,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Choice Uncirculated 64 EPQ that brought $372,000. This spectacular note is among the top offerings from the collection of Charlton Buckley, the former San Francisco-area businessman who pursued National Bank notes, large and small, as well as large and small size U.S. type notes, resulting in a trove of California Nationals and notes, including California Gold Bank Notes and Federal Reserve Notes.
“High-denomination notes always have exceptional appeal among collectors, and this is example is the perfect combination of collector demand and exceptional grade,” says Dustin Johnston, Senior Vice President of Numismatic at Heritage Auctions. “It has exceptional eye appeal, and when our consignor acquired it in in 2015, was one of the nicest offered $10,000s in the preceding half decade. Now, it’s a magnificent addition to a new collection.”
Also from the Buckley collection was a Fr. 2221-E $5,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Choice Uncirculated 63 that drew a winning bid of $240,000. Prior to this event, it had appeared at auction just once before. The PMG Population Report includes 15 graded examples, with just one Fr. 2221-E graded equal and two graded higher.
A San Francisco, CA - $50 1870 Fr. 1160 The First National Gold Bank Ch. # 1741 PMG Fine 12 from the Buckley collection ended at $180,000. It is one of only seven $50 National Gold Bank Notes — six of which are from this San Francisco bank — listed in the National Currency Foundation census; one of the overall seven reported $50 National Gold Bank Note survivors is in multiple pieces and another likely off the market forever in the ANA museum, thus resulting in only five obtainable examples.
A Fr. 2221-E $5,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Very Fine 25 from the Buckley collection reached $144,000. Its serial number, E00000170A, is the highest among the 13 valid serial numbers listed in Track & Price. This event marked just the second time this note has been offered at auction.
Another collection featured in the event was the auction will include 54 lots from the Ronald R. Gustafson Collection, which produced 49 lots sold in the auction, including a Fr. 2220-A $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Choice About Unc 58 that brought a winning bid of $288,000. One of just three documented Boston Series 1928 $5,000s, its popularity is due to the combination of grade and rarity. PMG has graded less than two dozen Series 1928 $5,000s, and this example is among the finest known of that small population.
The Gustafson Collection also produced a Fr. 2220-F $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Choice Extremely Fine 45 that closed at $216,000. It is the highest-graded example in both Track & Price (among eight listed serial numbers) and the PMG Population Report (among seven).
From the same collection came a Fr. 2231-F $10,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Very Fine 30 that achieved $156,000.
Not all of the top results in the auction were for lots from featured collections. For example: a Fr. 187j $1,000 1880 Legal Tender PMG Very Fine 30 Net that ended at $180,000. This high-denomination rarity has a vignette of Columbus in His Study and a portrait of DeWitt Clinton, who was governor of New York during the years of 1825-28 and had earlier served three stints as the mayor of New York City. Track & Price lists 15 different serial numbers for this Friedberg number, one of which is part of an institutional collection.
Two notes brought identical winning bids of $168,000: a Fr. 2231-H $10,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Extremely Fine 40 that is one of six documented examples of a St. Louis 1934 $10,000, and a Fr. 2220-D $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Very Fine 25 that is one of just two known examples of the Cleveland Series 1928 $5,000.
A beautiful Cincinnati, OH - $100 1875 Fr. 460 The Metropolitan National Bank Ch. # 2542 PMG About Uncirculated 55, an outstanding example of this very rare type and denomination, reached $120,000. Just one other is listed in the census with a CU grade, but that note, on a New York bank, never has appeared at public sale. Either way, the National Currency Foundation census does not list any other 1875 $100s above the 55 level, meaning this example very well could be the finest known.
