ERIC NEWMAN'S PROOF 1818 QUARTER

This is the fourth in a series on the Eric Newman US Coins Collection, one of the most famous US coin collections ever formed. Here in part 4, the focus is on Newman’s certified “Proof-67” 1818 Capped Bust Quarter. Heritage will auction this coin and many other coins from the Eric Newman Collection in New York on Nov. 15th and 16th.

This 1818 quarter is the only pre-1820 silver coin that I have ever seen that I regard as a true Proof, and I have been persistently examining 19th century Proof coins at major events for more than twenty years.

I have never seen a pre-1820 gold coin that I regard as a Proof, though I have seen two that are Specimen Strikings. The two or three 1817 large cents and one 1819/8 large cent that are certified as Proofs are certainly controversial. I will discuss these at another time.

Richard Burdick remarks that, in all the decades that he has been carefully studying large cents, he does “not remember ever seeing a pre-1820 large cent that I called a Proof. The 1819/8 cent in the Pittman Collection is not a Proof.” The Pittman coin is the 1819/8 large cent that is certified as being a “Proof.” Burdick has seen most of the surviving large cents that are Proofs or have been represented as Proofs. Indeed, Richard assembled one of the all-time greatest collections of Proof large cents, which he sold to Ted Naftzger.

Also, I have never come across a serious report of a pre-1820 dime or half dime being a Proof. None of the Proof silver dollars dated 1801, 1802, 1803 or 1804 could have been minted prior to 1834.

This 1818 quarter is not an obvious Proof. It fulfills minimum criteria to be a Proof. It is not the most convincing pre-1830 Proof silver coin that I have ever seen, though it has more powerful Proof characteristics than some other true, pre-1840 Proofs.

To read the complete article, see: The Fabulous Eric Newman US Coins Collection, Part 4: Proof 1818 Quarter (www.coinweek.com/featured-news/fabulous-eric-newman-us-coins-collection-part-4-proof-1818-quarter/)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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