world's most valuable coin

7/29/2019 World's most valuable coin.

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IRVINE, Calif. Leading rare coin auctioneer Stacks Bowers Galleries conducted one of the most

highly-anticipated events in numismatic history on January 24, 2013, with the sale of the record-

setting Cardinal Collection. The highlight of the evening was the $10,016,875 sale of the coveted

1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar, a superb Gem Specimen example, the finest known to exist. This set

a new world-record price for anycoin. Attended by hundreds of enthusiasts, collectors, investorsand dealers, and resulting in nearly $27 million in rare coins crossing the block, the auction of The

Cardinal Collection and other important consignments took place as part of the Stacks Bowers

Galleries New York Americana Sale.

To be a part of this historic occasion is nothing short of amazing! said Chris Napolitano, president

of Stacks Bowers Galleries. Collectors competed with great fervor and energy, resulting in

outstanding overall prices realized. The price of the gem 1794 dollar went up and up into the

millions, with everyone in the audience on the edge of their seats until at last there was just one

bidder remaining. At $10,016,875, a world-record price for any coin had been set! The previous

record was $7,590,020 for a 1933 Double Eagle, set in 2002 by our firm in partnership with

Sothebys. While it is well known that the value of the American dollar has depreciated over the

years, here is a dollar that has increased in value beyond the wildest of anyones dreams.

One of the greatest American numismatic landmarks, the 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar is the

finest known example of its kind, graded Specimen-66 by the Professional Coin Grading Service

(PCGS) and the Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC), leading certifiers of a coins condition. A

close study of its characteristics suggests that it may well be the first specimen struck of the first

year of the silver dollar, and was carefully preserved for posterity.

A certified 1792 silver half disme graded MS-68 by the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC)


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sold for $1,145,625, a 1793 Chain AMERICA large cent graded MS-65 BN (PCGS) (CAC) fetched a

strong $998,750, and a 1794 Liberty Cap Cent with the Head of 1793 graded MS-64 BN (PCGS)

(CAC) soared to $881,250 among many other notable and record prices.

Thanks to Martin Logies, chief architect of The Cardinal Collection, we were able to bring one of themost significant collections in all of numismatics to auction, Napolitano continued. The event

helped set a new standard of excellence in numismatics, and pays homage to the history, legacy

and lore of American coin collecting.

In addition to The Cardinal Collection, the New York Americana Sale featured other United States

coins of all denominations, including many rarities and finest known examples. For a complete list

of items sold and prices realized from the Stacks Bowers Galleries New York Americana Sale,

please visit

stacksbowers.com.

To consign U.S. coins and paper money to the Official Auction of the May 2013 ANA New Orleans

National Money Show, the June 2013 Whitman Coin and Collectibles Baltimore Expo, or the Official

Auction of the August 2013 ANA Chicago Worlds Fair of Money, please call 800.458.4646 (West

Coast) or 800.566.2580 (East Coast). To consign world coins and currency to our August 2013 Hong

Kong Auction or the Official Auction of the August 2013 ANA Chicago Worlds Fair of Money, please

call 800.458.4646 (West Coast) or 800.566.2580 (East Coast).
http://www.stacksbowers.com/http://www.stacksbowers.com/http://www.stacksbowers.com/http://www.stacksbowers.com/


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Lot #13094. 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar. B-1, BB-1,

the only known dies. Rarity-4. BB Die State I. Silver

Plug. Specimen-66 (PCGS). CAC.

Unique Superb Gem Specimen 1794 Dollar

One of the Greatest American Numismatic Landmarks Quite Possibly the VeryFirst Silver Dollar Struck

Description:Die Variety: There is just a single variety known of the circulation strikes of1794 silver dollars, both dies were apparently retired and not seen on any otherdie marriages of 1795.

Die State: This is the earliest die state seen, a perfect die state match to thecopper pattern 1794 Dollar (Judd-19) now at the Smithsonian--which is believedto have been struck first to test the dies and coining press. The definition of DieState I includes notable differences that are seen on the third curl up from thebottom of Liberty's hair, which is longer and more defined here than on anysubsequent specimen reported. The copper pattern and the present coin are theonly two known from this die state. Die State II coins show considerableevidence of die clashing, later states have the clashing lapped off, weakening thiscurl and other devices a bit further. Later die states also show that the dies werenot perfectly aligned, hence the left side of the struck coins is always weaklystruck compared to the strike definition on the right side. Of the approximately135 1794 silver dollars known, all but this example show evidence of clashing ordie lapping designated as Die State II or higher, placing this unique specimen asthe very earliest struck of all known examples, and very possibly representingthe very first silver dollar struck by the United States. The importance of thiscommentary cannot be overemphasized.

Strike: Of the entire known population of 1794 silver dollars, this is the only


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example to exhibitprooflike reflectivityin the fields. Indeed, when the coin isviewed out of its encapsulation, the fields flash with astounding deep mirrorreflection, providing remarkable contrast to the fully frosted devices. In additionto this important fact, Liberty's curls show incredible definition, even at their veryhighest relief above Liberty's ear, as do the eagle's feathers which display all of

the fine nuances of the die. In this regard, the striking quality of this uniquespecimen is actually superior to that imparted by the dies to the aforementionedsofter metal copper Judd-19 pattern. Even the fine bark detail of the wreathbranches stands out to the naked eye. As always the stars lack their radialcenters as the coining press simply could not fully strike up these large dollarcoins, the larger coining press was not available until several months later. Tinydie diagnostics include a minute lump in the lowest curl of Liberty's hair rightabove the 1 in the date. The bust line is broken above the date as well, as themaster hub of Liberty's head apparently had too much depth to fully bring up adefined border when the die was prepared, and this softly faded area is seenabove the 9. Star 14 has an extra repunched point on the upper right; there is a

small "J" shaped raised die lump between stars 12 and 13, and there is a fineraised die line extending from Liberty's lower lip into the right obverse fieldtoward star 9. On the reverse there is an extra berry stem extending up from thewreath below the second T of STATES, on the upper right of the wreath is a smalldisconnected leaf point, below and left of the uppermost leaf on the right. Aslightly blundered double dentil is found below the right stem end. Although notvisible in the current PCGS holder, the edge of this Specimen 1794 dollar isunusually squared off and sharp, this from discussions with several numismaticluminaries who have closely examined this coin in the past decade.

Pedigree: Virgil Brand Collection; James Kelly's Fixed Price List #20, 1945; C.

David Pierce; Art & Paul Kagin; B. Max Mehl's sale of the Will W. Neil Collection,June 1947, lot 1; our (Stack's) sale of the Amon G. Carter Family Collection,January 1984, lot 207; Hugh Sconyers for the American Rare Coin Fund LimitedPartnership; Superior's Hoagy Carmichael and Wayne Miller Collections sale,January 1986, lot 1173; Superior's sale of An Amazing Collection of UnitedStates Silver Dollars, May 1991, lot 699; Knoxville Collection, sold by privatetreaty to Jay Parrino; Steve Contursi, acquired via private treaty; CardinalCollection, acquired via private treaty in May 2010 for the record price of$7,850,000.

Notable Appearances: One of the cover coins for the book The Flowing HairSilver Dollars of 1794: An Historical and Condition Census Studyby MartinLogies, 2010, and also pictured on the PCGS CoinFacts website.

Commentary: Before the passage of the Mint Act of 1792, varied coinagescirculated throughout the colonies and, later, states. Some were produced by theindividual colonies and states themselves such as Massachusetts, Connecticutand New Jersey, and some were produced by foreign countries. Indeed, foreigncoinages were accepted as legal tender in the United States well into the mid-1800s. In contemplating the question of whether the U.S. should even considerproducing its own coins, Congress was presented with several proposals --including a contract proposal from an established foreign minter lauding its skillsat producing high quality coins at low prices. Secretary of State Thomas

Jefferson was assigned to evaluate that proposal, and his report to Congress onApril 14, 1790 was most eloquent. While recognizing that the United States


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would otherwise need to establish its own mint at some cost, and that the initialproduction from that mint may be less than perfect, Jefferson was succinct inrecommending the proposal be declined, stating that "Coinage is peculiarly anattribute of sovereignty. To transfer its exercise into another country, is tosubmit it to another sovereign."

Jefferson was equally outspoken about his support for using the dollar as thebasic monetary unit of currency for the United States. In his report to Congresshe stated, "I question if a common measure of more convenient size than thedollar could be proposed. The value of 100, 1,000, 10,000 dollars, is wellestimated by the mind; so is that of the tenth or hundredth of a dollar." He wenton to describe how confusing other monetary units had been, stating:

"Every one knows the facility of decimal arithmetic. Every one remembers that,when learning money arithmetic, he used to be puzzled with adding thefarthings, taking out the fours and carrying them on; adding the pence, taking

out the twelves and carrying them on; adding the shillings, taking out thetwentieths and carrying them on; but when he came to the pounds, where hehad only tens to carry forward, it was easy and free from error. The bulk ofmankind are school-boys through life. These little perplexities are always great tothem, and even mathematical heads feel relief of an easier substituted for amore difficult process. Certainly, in all cases where we are free to choosebetween easy and difficult modes of operation, it is most rational to choose theeasy. The financier, therefore, in his report, well proposed that our coins shouldbe in decimal proportions to one another. If we adopt the dollar for our unit, weshould strike four coins, one of gold, two of silver, and one of copper. (1) Agolden piece, equal in value to ten dollars; (2) The unit, or dollar itself, of silver;

(3) The tenth of a dollar, of silver also; (4) The hundredth of a dollar, of copper."

Thus said, undoubtedly, to our forefathers, the domestic production of coins, andmost essential, the production of silver dollars, was seen to be of nationalhistorical importance. The coins to be produced would not just be metallic toolsof commerce, but they would represent our Founding Fathers' circulatingdeclaration to the world of the sovereignty of our great nation. Indeed the uniqueSpecimen 1794 dollar, possibly the first struck of the nation's basic unit ofcurrency, may be our nation's first and foremost tangible symbol of thatdeclaration.

As news about the Cardinal Collection spread around the numismatic community,indeed extending all over the world, this particular historic treasure has attractedattention from all directions. As the finest known example of Americas first silverdollar it is a landmark par excellence, a unique prooflike coin that may well havebeen the first United States silver dollar struck. The term "once in a lifetimeopportunity" is seen now and again, but for this piece it is especially relevant. Ifyou compete for this and miss it, it may well go into an institutional collection orother holding, and may not reappear on the open market in your lifetime, if ever.To say more about this 1794 dollar might be gilding the lily so to speak.However, in summary it is certainly one of the greatest rarities that we have everhandled, this in our cumulative auction experience dating back to 1935. The coinis indeed legendary, one of its kind, and boasts great historical and numismatic

significance.In recent years there have been great run ups in the price of other collectibles.


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For an antique car to sell for over $10 million does not necessarily make headlinenews now, although it would have a generation ago. For a painting to sell formore than $100 million might not make headline news either. However, therarest of the rare among coins have generally sold in the low millions of dollars,the exceptions being the two highest records (earned by us) for the Childs 1804

silver dollar at over $4 million and the 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle (sold byus in partnership with Sotheby's) for more than $7 million. Most classics,including some that are equal in rarity to automobiles that have sold for pricesinto seven figures, are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. While the futureis unknown, as a collectible coins have much to offer that certain other fields donot. First of all, they are easily stored in a safe place. A second, the market isnot limited to dedicated specialists but is worldwide, with investors joiningcollectors in competition. Around the globe millions of people seek choice andrare coins, not always examples valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars,but even at those price levels there are certainly many eager competitors forrare coins. In summary. It seems entirely possible, therefore, that this important

1794 dollar with its incredible grade and unique specimen status might breakinto new ground. Here, indeed, is a rare coin for the ages.

PCGS Population: just 1 in all grades with a Specimen designation. The finestcertified Mint State examples of the issue are graded MS-66.

PCGS# 86851.

From the Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation.

world's most valuable coin

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