PREV ARTICLE
NEXT ARTICLE
FULL ISSUE
PREV FULL ISSUE
STACK'S BOWERS: CHARLES "CHEECH" LITMAN COLLECTIONStack's Bowers will be hosting their Summer 2026 Global Showcase Rarities Night Auction on September 1. Select items from the Charles "Cheech" Litman Collection are discussed below. -Garrett 
Undated (ca. 1785) Bar Copper. W-8520. Rarity-4. MS-63 BN (PCGS). OGH. Choice autumn-brown with frosty luster and exceptional eye appeal for the assigned grade. Both sides glow with original mint bloom, direct lighting calling forth soft pinkish-lilac undertones and faint traces of semi-reflectivity. Centering is typically off for the issue, both sides devoid of denticulation along the right borders, but the bars on the reverse are complete and crisp, the USA monogram on the obverse likewise razor sharp. Broad denticulation frames the left borders. The texture is glossy and temptingly close to Choice Mint State quality. In sum, this is a stellar specimen of this iconic and popular issue. One of the most eagerly sought numismatic items from the colonial and early federal era of United States history, the Bar copper is also one of the most enigmatic. We are not sure by whom or under what circumstances these pieces were produced. We are reasonably sure, however, that this type was struck circa 1785, as evidenced by an entry in the November 12, 1785, issue of the New Jersey Gazettee that states: A new and curious kind of coppers have lately made their appearance in New York. The novelty and bright gloss of which keeps them in circulation. These coppers are in fact similar to Continental buttons without eyes; on the one side are thirteen stripes and on the other U.S.A., as was usual on the solders' buttons. The Bar copper is perhaps the early American coin best equipped to illustrate two great narratives of the Revolutionary-era: the military struggle for independence and the economic struggle against crummy coppers. Both the obverse and reverse designs of the Bar coppers were borrowed directly from buttons worn by Continental Army soldiers. The obverse design was commonplace throughout the war on the coats and vests of soldiers from New England to the Carolinas, making this design instantly familiar to most who encountered it. The lifespan of those buttons was longer than the circulation life of a Bar copper, however. The Bar coppers did meet with initial success in the young United States, where a dearth of circulating specie meant that they were eagerly accepted in commerce. At the time of their introduction, however, these coins were among the most underweight of the post-Revolutionary coppers, sometimes weighing as little as half of a Fugio cent. When the Copper Panic of 1789 hit New York, the Hudson Valley, Philadelphia, New Haven, and Boston, these were among the first coppers to be tossed from circulation, which is why AU Bar coppers are more common than VGs. Those AU coins vary widely in quality though and, of course, choice Mint State pieces such as this are noteworthy rarities. This is certainly one of the nicest to come on the market in recent years.
To read the complete item description, see:
"1776" (1783) Continental Dollar. Newman 1-C, W-8445. Rarity-3. CURENCY. Pewter. MS-62 (PCGS). CMQ. This is a handsome and scarce Mint State example of the fabled Continental dollar, a type whose history has recently been rewritten by numismatic researchers, but whose popularity is as strong today as it has ever been. Richly original pewter-gray surfaces with blended deep olive patina. Both sides reveal flashes of soft mint luster that are best appreciated at direct viewing angles. Well centered in strike with nearly complete border denticulation and all major design elements sharp. Struck from an earlier state of this obverse die, there is an internal cud break at the tops of the letters GI in FUGIO, but of the cracks and breaks that eventually extend from it in both directions no traces are seen. An ancient surface deposit at the letters NE in CONTINENTAL blends almost seamlessly into the toning, while both sides are free of significant handling marks with a lovely appearance in hand. The Continental dollar is an enigmatic type for which no specific documentation detailing its origin has ever been found. Numismatic scholars have been able to piece together a story that, up until recently, had become the generally accepted version of events. According to this story, resolutions passed by the Continental Congress on February 17, 1776, and May 9 of the same year provided for the issuance of paper money in various denominations, including a $1 note. Resolutions passed later in the year on July 22 and November 2, however, omitted the $1 note. Based on these facts and supported by the existence of these coins, it was theorized that the Continental Congress intended these pieces to serve in lieu of the $1 note beginning in the latter half of 1776. The vast majority of surviving examples are struck in pewter, as here, although a few silver and brass impressions are also known. It was easy to conclude that pewter was the intended composition of such a coin, as the coins would have been fiat money without intrinsic backing, as the notes were. In addition, the fledgling government did not have a significant treasury reserve. Elisha Gallaudet was identified by Eric Newman as the likely maker based on convenient circumstantial evidence. He was a New York City engraver of the period who was known to have been involved in production of New York paper money issues of the 1770s and thus clearly a prime candidate. The earliest known published record of the Continental dollar came, oddly enough, in the German book Historical and Genealogical Almanac, or Yearbook of the Most Remarkable New World Events for 1784 by Matthias Christian Sprengel. Despite the date in the title, the book was published in 1783, the captions for its illustrations rendered in German for the benefit of its target audience. Two illustrations were used to represent the new American nation: one depicting the famous Libertas Americana medal and the other the equally iconic Continental dollar. The caption provided for the obverse of the Continental dollar was AMERICANISCHE LANDES MUNTZE, which roughly translates into "American Country Money." The publisher actually wrote to Benjamin Franklin requesting illustrations to use in the book, although with no record of Franklin's reply the exact origin of Sprengel's illustrations remains unknown. A few years later, in 1786, Bishop Richard Watson's Chemical Essays (Volume IV) also mentioned the Continental dollar. Watson was a professor of chemistry and divinity at Cambridge sanctioned by the British Crown. After discussing the "gun money" issues of King James III, Watson writes: The Congress in America had recourse to the same expedient; they coined several pieces of about an inch and a half in diameter, and of 240 grains in weight; on one side of which was inscribed in a circular ring near the edge - Continental Currency, 1776 - and within the ring a rising sun, with - fugio - at the side of it, shining upon a dial, under which was - Mind your business. - On the reverse were thirteen small circles joined together like the rings of a chain, on each of which was inscribed the name of some one of the thirteen states; on another circular ring, within these, was inscribed - American Congress - and in the central space - We are One. Although the authors of these early publications obviously believed that the Continental dollars were coins of American manufacture, no documentary evidence was provided to substantiate this claim. In fact, it is the lack of documentary evidence authorizing the issue of these pieces in the records of the Continental Congress that has long troubled numismatic researchers. As convincing as the traditional story of these pieces seems, and as tempting as it is to assign primary source status to the Sprengel and Bishop Watson accounts because they date to the 1780s, modern research and a two-part article by Erik Goldstein and David McCarthy entitled "The Myth of the Continental Dollar" published in the January and July 2018 editions of The Numismatist challenge the long accepted theories surrounding these coins. They discovered that a long string of early Americans - people who were actually in a position to provide concrete facts about these pieces - went on the record to mention that they had never seen or heard of such a thing as a Continental dollar coin. Paul Revere and Josiah Meigs both went on the record within a decade of the end of the American Revolution to correct Bishop Watson's report that the pewter "dollar" was an American coin. In the December 12, 1788 issue of The New Haven Gazette, which he owned and published, Meigs, who at the time was New Haven's city clerk, boldly rebuked Bishop Watson's conclusion: The following extract from the learned Bishop Watson's Chemical Essays Vol. 4. Page 136. shews how easily strange errors are introduced into the writing of even careful men when they write on any subject relative to distant countries--It is probable that some workman amused himself with copying one of the small bills emitted by Congress, into a die or mould, and then impressed or cast a piece of Pewter such as the Bishop has described.--If the author of that work should publish a future addition, it is hoped that clause will be omitted.
To read the complete item description, see:
1793 Liberty Cap Half Cent. Head Left. C-2. Rarity-3. AU-50 (PCGS). OGH. Fuhrman Die State 3. Strong quality for the assigned grade, this highly appealing example exhibits glints of tan-gold to dominant olive-brown patina. Sharply defined in most areas, where allowed by die state, the strike is also fairly well centered on a nice, broad planchet. Only minor flan flaws are present, all on the obverse, and all minor, with the most readily evident at Liberty's neck and in the field before the profile. The in-hand appearance is remarkably smooth in the absence of troublesome marks. The reverse is rotated approximately 45 degrees clockwise from normal coin alignment, an attribute we have noted in several other 1793 half cents of the C-2 die pairing. The 1793 half cent is significant as the first United States half cent, the only issue of the Liberty Cap, Head Left design type and one of just two denominations struck during the Mint's first full year of coinage operations (the other is the large cent). Henry Voigt engraved the dies, and by mid-May the Mint had already prepared more than 30,000 planchets for the half cents, including having their edges lettered. All of the planchets were made from sheet copper. Actual coinage did not commence until July 19, however, with production on that date probably accounting for most or all of the 7,000 examples delivered to the treasurer the following day. The remaining 24,934 half cents were struck from July 23 to 25 and delivered on July 26, for a total mintage of 31,934 pieces for the 1793 Liberty Cap issue. The oft-published mintage of 35,334 pieces for this issue includes an additional 3,400 coins delivered with the Liberty Cap cents on September 18, 1793, that William R. Eckberg (The Half Cent, 1793-1857: The Story of America's Greatest Little Coin, 2019) believes were actually cents based on the records of Mint Treasurer Tristram Dalton. When half cent coinage resumed in 1794, the denomination featured a modified Liberty Cap design by Robert Scot with the portrait facing to the right. Given its current popularity, it may be surprising that the 1793 half cent seems to have been generally overlooked by contemporary collectors. No notable high grade pieces appeared from English or other European sources in the 20th century, suggesting that few, if any, Mint State examples were set aside by numismatists and others who visited the early United States. It was not until the 1850s that numismatics as a hobby began to gain widespread popularity in the United States, and the earliest known interest in the 1793 half cent as a valuable collectible dates to that decade. In 1855 collector Winslow Howard purchased a lot of two examples in the Pierre Flandin sale, one of the first major numismatic auctions held in the United States. Mr. Howard paid $7 for his two 1793 half cents, a sizable sum, especially since half cents could still be found in commerce during the 1850s, at least in major Eastern cities like Philadelphia and New York. It is almost certainly the retrieval of coins from circulation during the decade preceding the Civil War that accounts for the majority of 1793 half cents known today, a theory that squares nicely with an extant population comprised almost exclusively of worn coins. The exact number of Mint State 1793 half cents extant is a matter of debate, although it certainly represents an infinitesimal proportion of all survivors. Given their undeniable rarity, the best that most collectors can hope to acquire for this issue is an AU, and the sharp-eyed bidder will recognize the fleeting nature of this offering. Numismatic researchers have identified four different die pairings for the 1793 half cent. Cohen-2, represented by the present specimen, shares its obverse with C-1 and its reverse with C-3. Bill Eckberg asserts that this variety was struck on July 23, 1793, and delivered with the C-3 and C-4 coins on July 26. The author's estimate on the number of survivors for the C-2 pairing is 250 to 325 coins. Although all four die marriages of this issue are of roughly equal availability in an absolute sense, the C-2 is very rare above Extremely Fine with Ronald Manley observing that examples are "usually available only in low grades."
To read the complete item description, see:
1796 Draped Bust Quarter. B-2. Rarity-3. MS-62 (NGC). Gold CAC. CMQ-X. OH. Offered is a stunning condition rarity and supremely attractive coin for this one year design type that is eagerly sought even in the lowest circulated grades. This 1796 quarter is elegantly toned with surfaces that are dressed in richly original patina, the colors most vivid and varied when observed with the aid of direct lighting. The strike is expertly centered with most design elements sharply defined; softness to the eagle's head, breast and left leg is typical of most examples. It is uncommonly smooth and attractive for the assigned grade with a frosty to faintly semi-reflective finish. Gold CAC approval is fully justified here, as this coin is strongly suggestive of at least Select Mint State quality. The 1796 quarter has long been an object of desire for all who form type sets of American coinage. Struck only in this single year, the Draped Bust obverse in combination with the Small Eagle reverse is very rare relative to the demand for it, as no type set can be complete without an example. Survivors are scarce as the mintage was just 6,146 pieces. The Mint required two obverse dies and one reverse to achieve this mintage, with Browning-2, as offered here, the more frequently encountered by a small margin. This is the High 6 variety of the issue, so named because the digit 6 in the date is closer to the bust than on the B-1 Low 6 variety. While a number of Mint State 1796 quarters are extant from both die marriages, the vast majority of survivors are circulated to one degree or another. Demand for high grade coins is particularly intense and, indeed, the offered coin is an ideal example - the very best that most collectors could realistically hope for in a 1796 quarter. Worthy of the strongest bids, and destined for inclusion in an exceptional numismatic cabinet.
To read the complete item description, see:
1818 Capped Bust Quarter. B-3. Rarity-3. MS-65 (NGC). Tompkins Die Stage 2/2, Rea et al. Die State P. This is an uncommonly well preserved and visually appealing survivor of a challenging and underrated early quarter design type. Both sides are dressed in warm olive-gray patina that lightens to silver-apricot iridescence toward the centers; the peripheries light up with halos of cobalt blue as the coin dip into direct lighting. Softly frosted in finish, if a bit muted in overall appearance, with sharply rendered features and an expectably smooth appearance for the assigned grade. Although authorized by the Act of April 2, 1792, the first quarter dollars were not produced until 1796. During the earliest years of U.S. Mint operations silver coins were produced at the specific request of bullion depositors, and the quarter dollar was not a popular denomination as evidenced by the mintage figures of the 1790s and early 1800s. The highest mintage date before 1831 is the 1818, with only 361,174 pieces struck. In 1796, the inaugural year of the quarter dollar, just 6,146 pieces filled the Mint's orders for this denomination. Quarter dollar production was also sporadic throughout the earliest decades of Mint operations, with many years passing in which no examples were produced. The largest gaps in production were from 1797 through 1803 and from 1808 through 1814. Much of the 1815 mintage of 89,235 pieces filled a request for quarter dollars from the Planters Bank of New Orleans. Widely known to numismatists for their counterstamped Spanish cut fractional coins, the Planters Bank deposited nearly $15,000 in silver bullion for coinage in 1815 and requested only quarter dollars in return. The new quarter dollars depicted assistant engraver John Reich's Capped Bust portrait of Liberty that was first used on the half dollar and half eagle in 1807. A single die pair struck the entire 1815-dated issue, after which quarter dollar coinage was halted once again until 1818. As one of the most frequently encountered issues in this series, the 1818 Capped Bust quarter is eagerly sought by both type collectors and specialists. The issue is obtainable by early quarter standards, at least in lower circulated grades, although AU examples are scarce. The 1818 is rare in Mint State, however, especially at and above the Choice level, as here. The present lot represents a significant bidding opportunity for advanced collectors and will attract much excitement when it crosses the auction block.
To read the complete item description, see:
1876 Three-Dollar Gold Piece. JD-2. Rarity-6. Proof-64 (PCGS). CAC. CMQ. OGH. An impressive coin with premium technical quality to match its undeniable absolute rarity. The surfaces are nicely preserved with a predominantly smooth appearance that holds up well even under close scrutiny with a loupe. This is also a beautiful coin, as one should expect for the assigned grade, the surfaces bathed in vivid orange-gold color with appreciable field to device contrast. Sharp strike detail that touches even the most intricate design elements rounds out a truly impressive list of attributes for this phenomenal coin. The Mint produced no circulation strike three-dollar gold coins in 1876, a repeat of 1875, but it did step up Proof production in the later year in anticipation of increased demand associated with the United States Centennial celebration. Officially the Mint struck 45 Proof threes in 1876, 20 coins delivered on February 19 and an additional 25 specimens on June 13. Interestingly, however, two die marriages are known, with different die rotations also known for both varieties. John W. Dannreuther (2018) rightly concludes that this data points to at least four different striking periods, so it is likely that a few additional Proofs of this issue were prepared, either on other dates in 1876 and/or as restrikes sometime after that year. With a higher mintage, it is little wonder than the 1876 three-dollar gold piece is more plentiful in numismatic circles than the 1875, which is also a Proof-only issue, but one with a reported mintage of just 20 coins. As with all classic U.S. Mint Proof gold coins, of course, the 1876 three is a major rarity in an absolute sense. Dannreuther accounts for only 32 to 40 survivors, which total is evenly divided between the JD-1 and JD-2 die pairings. The awesome near-Gem Proof offered here is an exquisite specimen destined for inclusion in an advanced gold cabinet.
To read the complete item description, see:
1815 Capped Head Left Half Eagle. BD-1. Rarity-7. MS-62 (NGC). BD Die State b/e. An American numismatic treasure, this Uncirculated 1815 half eagle is a star of the early gold offerings in this sale. The 1815 was long a more famous half eagle rarity than the 1822, and today it is still revered by generalists and gold coin specialists alike. This is one of the six Mint State examples known, endowed with plenty of visual appeal. Wisps of pinkish-rose iridescence are scattered across the bright olive-orange surfaces. The luster is pleasing, if a bit muted, both sides frosty in texture with modest semi-reflective qualities in the fields. The strike is virtually full, and nowhere less than bold, with just a touch of softness confined to the highest points of Liberty's hair curls, the eagle's talons, and within the eagle's right wing, where a few faint adjustment marks (as made) can be discerned under magnification. In addition to muted luster, the surfaces are a tad glossy in texture with faint hairlines, but free of sizeable marks. Light scratches at the obverse border between stars 6 and 7 and outside stars 11 and 12 are the most useful provenance marker. The obverse die shows no damage that condemned this issue to rarity; instead, a dearth of gold deposited for coinage resulted in this year concluding with a mintage of just 635 half eagles. A fine die crack (as made) crosses star 12 from its northeast point to its bottom point, from which it connects to star 13. A more trivial die crack extends to Liberty's fore curl from the rim beyond star 5. The reverse is on its third marriage in this combination, following 1813 BD-2 and the 1814/3. The die cracks at MERICA and D of the denomination are in about the same state as they were on the 1814/3, and the die cracks atop several letters of STATES have likewise not advanced. The die clash is now barely visible, showing just a small impression below the letters IB in PLURIBUS. These attributes correspond to BD Die State b/e, as above. The War of 1812 was disastrous for the American economy. Following an ill-conceived embargo (that punished Americans more than their enemies), incursions over the American border from Canada in 1813, and an invasion of the American capital in 1814, specie was hoarded and the economy ground to a halt. The Mint was all but shuttered for most of 1815, with the war preventing the importation of cent planchets from England and the economic issues manifesting in very few deposits of specie. "The high price of gold and silver bullion for some time past in the current paper money of the country has prevented, and, as long as this shall continue to be the case, must necessarily prevent, deposits of these metals being made for coinage to any considerable amount," wrote Mint Director Robert Patterson in his Mint Report for the year. A deposit of silver from New Orleans led to a sizable number of quarter dollars being struck in 1815, but the key date 1815 half dollars were actually struck after the calendar turned to 1816. Only tiny deposits of gold came into the Mint, two of which arrived in 1815 and one of which remained leftover from late 1814. It took but one day to produce the entire year's production of half eagles. "The entire mintage of 635 coins was struck, probably in less than an hour, on November 3, 1815," wrote Bill Eckberg in a 2015 article on the year's coinage, published in Coin World. Researcher R.W. Julian calculated the number of 1815 half eagles given to each depositor: "Thomas Parker received 67 of the coins, Charles F. Kalkman another 210 pieces and the Bank of Pennsylvania was sent the rest, 358 pieces." These 635 coins represented all the gold coins struck by the United States Mint in 1815, one of the smallest annual mintages of any denomination during the Mint's long history. While knowledge of American coins has evolved significantly over the last 150 years, the 1815 half eagle is one of only a few issues that has ever been seriously considered the rarest American coin. In April 1883, when S. Hudson and Henry Chapman offered an example to T. Harrison Garrett, they called it "the rarest coin of the U.S. regular series" and noted that "but four specimens of this date are known to exist, which cannot, we think, be said of any other date of U.S. coins." They correctly added that the 1815 half eagle is "of greater rarity than the dollar of 1804" and surmised that "in a few years, when the collecting of gold develops, it will no doubt command a very large figure." Their prescience is borne out by auction data compiled by P. Scott Rubin. The next authentic 1815 half eagle to sell at auction after 1883 was the example in the H.P. Smith sale of 1906, which sold for $1,050. The next year, the Stickney coin brought $2,000, and prices continued to increase thereafter. During this era, Harold P. Newlin and Lorin Parmelee also weighed in on the relative rarity and desirability of the 1815 half eagle. Newlin, best known today for his pioneering work on half dimes, was a careful student of early U.S. silver and gold coins. He was also T. Harrison Garrett's closest advisor for some time. Newlin told Garrett in December 1884, "It is only very recently that the 1822 [half eagle] was known to be rare" and "Parmelee thinks [the 1822 $5] is the scarcest after 1815, but it will never bring as much as that date as the 1815 has always been considered the rarest coin in the U.S. series." Newlin continued, commenting that it "has been advertised for and looked after for 25 years without another specimen being brought to light." By the time the next example had changed hands via auction in the 1906 Harlan Page Smith sale more than 20 years later "probably about 6" specimens were reported to exist. Smith's coin was likely the one offered in the 1890 Parmelee sale, consigned by Smith as a stand in for the inauthentic Parmelee coin, but retained by him after the auction. Over the next several decades, a few new pieces were discovered. The Stickney coin came to light in 1907, though it was collected decades earlier; it appears to have been the seventh specimen identified. Even as new 1815 half eagles came to light, they disappeared from the market just as quickly. The Mint Cabinet acquired one in 1884, never to be sold again. The piece T. Harrison Garrett purchased the same year was not sold again for nearly a century. Stickney's sold five times between 1907 and 1955 before it was snapped up by Josiah K. Lilly and eventually added to the National Numismatic Collection. The coin that was contained in the Harry W. Bass Foundation Core Collection turned up in 1912, changed hands via only private transactions until it was sold in the 1954 King Farouk sale in Cairo, then was purchased by Bass in the 1987 Norweb sale. The H.P. Smith coin traveled a similar route: acquired by John H. Clapp, sold privately to Louis Eliasberg, and never offered at a single auction between 1906 and the 1982 Eliasberg sale. It last sold in the 1999 Bass II sale. Similarly, the Flanagan coin sold in 1944 went into the James A. Stack Collection for a half century and did not sell again until 1995. The Pogue specimen, once part of the Virgil Brand Collection, is the example purchased by Brand from the Guttag Brothers in 1925. Brand paid $3,500 for the coin, a record sum for the issue that was more than examples brought in 1922 (the Ten Eyck coin at $2,200), 1944 (the Flanagan coin at $2,800) and 1946 (the Atwater coin at $3,100). The coin in the 1944 J.F. Bell sale (ex Ten Eyck) brought slightly more, $3,600, more than 20 years after Brand's purchase from the Guttags. A short list of famous rarities from the Virgil Brand Collection, written by Armin Brand in 1940, describes the 1815 half eagle acquired from the Guttag Brothers as "Unc.," the sole grade descriptor Armin Brand made in the document. It is now the finest certified 1815 half eagle in PCGS MS-65, and realized $822,500 in our February 2016 Pogue III Sale. Extensive research on this issue by Saul Teichman and the team of David Stone and Mark Van Winkle has found only 10 known specimens. The provenance of each specimen has been rendered in detail by Stone and Van Winkle in The 1815 Half Eagle: New Discoveries, and is also published on the Newman Numismatic Portal. Their work has revealed that the specimen long thought to be in the Connecticut State Library is actually an altered 1813 half eagle and confirms that the example Joseph J. Mickley said was in the Swedish Mint cabinet really does exist. Purchased in 1851 "with 19 other gold coins from other countries," the example in the Kungliga Myntkabinettet in Stockholm is illustrated and described in The 1815 Half Eagle, "graded AU-55 or better" though probably lightly cleaned. Aside from this example and the two examples in the Smithsonian Institution previously mentioned, just seven examples survive in private hands: the Pogue coin; the Garrett specimen; the Bass Core Collection coin; the present example, last sold in the June 2000 Goldberg's sale; the Clapp-Eliasberg coin last sold in the Bass II sale; the Atwater-Carter coin; and the Flanagan-James A. Stack coin. Decades have sometimes passed between opportunities to bid on any example of this classic American rarity and, indeed, the present specimen is expected to find its way into another tightly held cabinet through this current auction appearance. Provenance: From the Charles "Cheech" Litman Collection. Earlier from Superior's Baltimore '93 Auction, July 1993, lot 885; Ira & Larry Goldberg's Dr. Richard Ariagno Collection sale, May 1999, lot 718; Ira & Larry Goldberg's sale of Dr. Jon Kardatzke Collection, Part II, June 2000, lot 1306.
To read the complete item description, see:
1876 Liberty Head Double Eagle. JD-1. Rarity-6. Proof-64 (PCGS). CAC. OGH. Appearing finer even than the near-Gem grade assigned by PCGS, this fully struck, richly original piece reveals few blemishes of even a trivial nature. Bold cameo contrast goes unmentioned on the Generation 3.1 PCGS insert, and the eye appeal is strong enough to support at least a support a Gem Proof assessment. Vivid deep orange-gold in color, this piece is sure to sell for a strong bid. The mintage of 45 pieces in Proof has been cut at least in half - by time and attrition - and John W. Dannreuther (2018) opines that only 18 to 22 of these exist today. A few Proof 1876 $20s are impaired, and also a few are impounded in museum collections, further limiting the supply of premium quality survivors such as that offered here. This issue is historic for many reasons. First off, 1876 was America's centennial year and many celebrations were held to commemorate this incredible event. The nation was still healing from the devastating Civil War that had ended a little over a decade prior. The westward expansion came to a sudden half that year when George A. Custer ran into his final battle at the Little Big Horn, ending his brilliant military and political career. Holding this attractive and rare Proof double eagle captures those moments in time. Somehow this glorious piece has come forward through all the trials and tribulations since its issue as well, yet remarkably well preserved. Double eagle Proofs are among the most sought-after of all U.S. Mint gold coins, as they are so rare and impressive in size. Most of those struck were melted or later spent. This outstanding coin is destined for an advanced collection and is certain to be a major highlight of any conversation in which it is discussed. This lot includes NGC insert #326385-004 with a grade of Proof-64 Cameo from an earlier certification of this coin.
To read the complete item description, see:
1851 Augustus Humbert $50. Lettered Edge. K-2. Rarity-5. 880 THOUS., No 50 on Reverse. AU-53 (NGC). CAC. CMQ. OH. An iconic California Gold Rush issue, among the earliest $50 slugs produced before the labor-intensive process of lettering the edges was abandoned in favor of reeding. Abundant softly frosted luster persists on surfaces that sport lovely, warm, medium golden-yellow color. Most devices are sharply rendered and fully struck on both sides, showing only typical softness within the eagle's rock on the obverse, and only light high point wear from a short stint in active circulation. This variety did not receive a hand-punched 50 at the central reverse, unlike its K-1 (also .880) and K-4 (.887) counterparts. Only the usual scattering of contact marks are seen across the surfaces, and the portion of the edges visible in the encapsulation are remarkably smooth and free of the major bruises and other defects that are so common on Humbert slugs. Minor planchet flaws at the upper and lower reverse borders are as made and in no way detract. The aesthetic appeal of this coin is immense, with the kind of color surface preservation seldom encountered in the modern era. With its look, luster and detail, this coin would be challenging to improve upon within the AU grade. This is a simply incredible specimen of this important historical coinage, described by Kagin and McCarthy as "the earliest U.S. Government issues in California." The lettered edge $50 slugs were first struck on January 31, 1851, shortly after Augustus Humbert arrived in San Francisco with the necessary tools in hand. The majestic eagle on the obverse was accomplished by America's most highly regarded medalist, Charles Cushing Wright of New York. The reverse die, with its fine engine turned details, resembles watch cases of the era, unquestionably the work of Humbert, a former watchcase maker himself. For modern collectors, there is not a single issue that symbolizes the California Gold Rush better than a Humbert $50 slug. They are massive and iconic, recognizable even outside the realm of numismatics, an encapsulation of the dramatic wealth and excess of the Gold Rush era. Though any Humbert slug is desirable, the lettered edge types of 1851 came first and remain the hardest to locate in nice grade. The Kagin-McCarthy book estimates that about 100 specimens of this variety, with the 880 THOUS obverse and no denomination on the reverse, exist today. Most are damaged, many are in institutional holdings, and very few are prettier than this. We have only offered two finer 880 THOUS Lettered Edge $50 slugs since 2021: an NGC AU-58 example in our November 2021 Baltimore Auction, and the James A. Stack, Sr. specimen in PCGS/CAC/CMQ AU-58+ that brought $360,000 in our February 2026 sale of that celebrated collection. We haven't had a Mint State example since our 2006 sale of the Archangel Collection.
To read the complete item description, see:
"1861" (1874) Confederate Cent. Haseltine Restrike. Breen-8008. Copper. EF-40 (PCGS). An eminently collectable Haseltine restrike Confederate cent in copper whose offering in this sale represents a fleeting opportunity for advanced collectors of Civil War era coinage. Warmly toned in walnut brown with wisps of light rose intermingled through the centers, the protected areas around many design elements show deeper russet highlights that are associated with some light, ancient surface build up. There is evidence of an old, light cleaning here, thin scrape low in the left obverse field, but the in-hand appearance is pleasing for an example of this type that was obvious the recipient of less-than-ideal handling on the part of one or more earlier collectors. Capt. John W. Haseltine's 1874 restrikes are beset by almost as much confusion and contradiction as the original 1861 Confederate cents. Haseltine and J. Colvin Randall, who controlled the supply of original Confederate cents and dies, enlisted Philadelphia die sinker Peter L. Krider to restrike Confederate cents from Robert Lovett, Jr.'s original dies. According to the sales pitch in their "Circular to Collectors" of April 2, 1874, seven restrikes in gold, 12 in silver, and 55 in copper were made before the dies broke. Haseltine misremembered in 1908 that only three gold and five silver restrikes were produced, but the number of extant specimens preclude these smaller numbers. In the November 1911 issue of The Numismatist, trusted numismatic scholar Edgar Adams also reported a mintage figure of seven pieces for the gold restrikes. Since Haseltine was not known for his loyalty to the truth, as we know from his various renditions of the story of the originals, it is no wonder that he also embellished the story behind the restrikes. A note should be made here about the restrike Confederate cents made by Robert Bashlow in the early 1960s, which should not be confused with the Haseltine restrikes of 1874. These were struck in generally large quantities in a variety of metals using copy dies made from the original, but by then harshly defaced dies, immediately setting them apart in visual appearance from the first restrikes made by Haseltine.
To read the complete item description, see:
Cheech Litman was a fixture on the Pittsburgh numismatic scene, running The Coin Exchange on Sixth Avenue downtown. I visited the shop many a time, purchasing some highlights of my numismatic library as well as jewelry for my wife. Although I didn't get to know him well personally, I was quite sad to see him deteriorate in the months leading up to his passing. I attended his memorial service along with other members of local clubs. Latest week we discussed his 1894-S dime. Here are some more highlights from his personal collection. -Editor
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: Subscribe All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
|