Auctions

Revered assemblage from renowned numismatic collector will be offered by Heritage and Early Cents Auctions during January FUN convention

Heritage Auctions will offer a significant collection of large cents when the Collection of Walter J. Husak and the Liberty Cap Foundation crosses the block January 4, 2024, as part of the FUN Convention in Orlando, Florida.

The owner of HK Aerospace, in Burbank, California, Husak began collecting coins as a teenager in the 1950s and continued until his death last year. He purchased his first large cent — a rare 1804 Draped Bust, for $600 — in 1980, and began in the 1990s what became one of the most important collections of Sheldon varieties, which Heritage sold in 2008 for more than $10 million. In 2009, he founded the Liberty Cap Foundation to benefit American coin history research and education; at about the same time, he began his second large cent collection.

The auction at FUN will be conducted by Heritage Auctions, in partnership with Chris McCawley of Early Cents Auctions. Over the 15 years since his first collection sold, Husak reacquired 35 of the coins from the original assemblage.

“Walter Husak spent most of his life collecting and becoming an unquestioned expert on large cents and Sheldon varieties,” said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions. “It is only appropriate that a collection of this historical stature should be its own event.”

“In 2008, Heritage Auctions was pleased to present the first large cent collection that Walter Husak assembled,” Heritage Auctions Consignment Director Sam Foose said. “Like most collectors, ‘Walt,’ as he was known to his friends, was not finished collecting. His second collection was well on its way to completion when he passed away last year.”

Early Cents Auctions president Chris McCawley said the collection represents a clear selection of the elite examples of numerous coins.

“Early Cents Auctions is proud to partner with Heritage in the sale of the fabulous Walter Husak collection of U.S. Large Cents,” McCawley said. “The Walter Husak collection contains some of the finest early copper coins to come on the market in the last decade and a half, since the sale of Walter’s first collection in 2008, including possibly the finest set of 1794 Liberty Cap cents ever assembled, as well as many other choice rarities and finest-knowns.”

Heritage Senior Numismatist Mark Borckardt, a 50-year member of the Early American Coppers organization, wrote the first Husak Collection catalog and is working with Bob Grellman of Early American Cents on the present catalog.

“The auction will include more than 200 Sheldon variety large cents, many of which are the finest known examples,” Borckardt said. “Most of the coins have an outstanding provenance — there are even eight coins that have a continuous provenance to the 1790s, previously from William Strickland and the St. Oswald collection.”

Large cents, which are roughly the same size as half dollars that currently are in circulation, drew significant pursuit from numismatic collectors in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, and grew in popularity in part because of Sheldon’s 1949 book, Early American Cents — a survey of large cent varieties created from 1793 through 1814. 

Collectors will have opportunities to study the Husak collection before heading to Florida in January. The collection will be displayed June 22-24 at the Early American Coppers Annual Convention in Portland, Oregon, and August 9-12 at the ANA Convention in Pittsburgh.

Early Cents Auctions/ECA is a team of early copper specialists consisting of Chris Victor-McCawley, Bob Grellman, Lyle Engleson, Lucas Baldridge and Travis Hollon. Together they have participated in the sale of over $100 million dollars in classic early American copper coins including the collections of Robbie Brown, Ted Naftzger, Dan Holmes and the Missouri Cabinet. Images and information about all lots in the auction can be found at HA.com/1370.

One of the banknotes that is among the most popular with collectors will offer a savory treat to its next owner, after it is sold in Heritage Auctions’ CSNS Currency Signature® Auction May 3-5.

The Fr. 377 $100 1890 Treasury Note PCGS Banknote About Unc 50 Details is known as the “Watermelon $100” because of the iconic design on the reverse, in which the zeroes resemble the popular large fruit from the same family as cucumbers and pumpkins.

“Watermelon notes are always in exceptionally high demand, and Watermelon $100s are exceedingly rare,” says Dustin Johnston, Vice President of Numismatics at Heritage Auctions. “The example in this auction is one of only 35 known examples of this beautiful banknote. Eliminate the eight government-held pieces and this is one of just 27 available to the public.”

The offered example is one of the finer known pieces, and can be traced to the holdings of William Philpott and Bob Medlar, who offered the note in a 1972 advertisement. Shortly thereafter, it was acquired by well-known New York collector Frank Levitan, and then it was later offered in the sale of Frank’s Large Size Type collection in 1998. Aside from a PMG Choice 63 EPQ piece, which sold at auction for $372,000 three years ago, no finer example of this rare and popular type note has been offered at public auction since Heritage sold the Tom Flynn collection in 2008, from which a PMG 53 Net example brought a winning bid of $195,500.

Images and information about all lots in the auction can be found at HA.com/3592.

An 1870-S Three Dollar Gold, SP50 sold for a record $5.52 million, and three other coins reached seven figures to lead Heritage Auctions’ The Bass Collection, Part II US Coins Signature® Auction – Orlando FUN to $24,022,741 on Jan. 5.

The auction was enormously successful by any metric: of the 103 offered lots, 30 established new records. The event was the second installment of the collection of Harry W. Bass; proceeds from the auction will benefit the dozens of Dallas-based nonprofits supported by the Harry W. Bass Jr. Foundation, with a particular emphasis on early childhood education and literacy in Dallas. Part I reached $20,459,645 Sept. 29.

“These coins were very special to Harry, and I hope the buyers appreciate them as much as he did,” says F. David Calhoun, executive director of the Harry W. Bass Jr. Foundation. “They’re not just commodities, as every coin was special to Harry, as evidenced by the extraordinary collection of U.S. gold rarities he assembled. And, of course, the more money raised from the auctions of these coins, the better because that means we can help more people.”

“Heritage Auctions delivered more than $24 million in winning bids for the Bass Foundation tonight, and nearly $44.5 million over the first two parts of this extraordinary auction, and we know the foundation will put these proceeds to great use amongst the charities they support,” Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Todd Imhof said. “Our sale of Part II of the Bass Foundation’s rare coins tonight delivered numerous world records and shows this bull market in the rare coin hobby continues.

“We could not be more happy for the Bass Foundation and for the charities it supports.”

The event’s top lot, which drew 73 bids, crushed the previous world record of $687,500 and is among the rarest and most enigmatic coins in the U.S. federal series. Reliable reports suggest that a second example, housed in a ceremonial casket, was placed under the cornerstone of the Second San Francisco Mint in 1870, but the example offered in this auction is the only known example. But assuming the reports of that second example are accurate, that coin would be forever out of reach to collectors, meaning that for all intents and purposes, the example sold in this auction is unique.

Also clearing more than $1 million was the finest known 1795 Capped Bust Right Eagle, MS64, which reached $2.1 million. The rarest and most sought-after of the capped Bust Right, Small Eagle die varieties, PCGS CoinFacts estimates the surviving population at 18-22 examples in all grades, while John Dannreuther estimates 20-22 specimens extant. PCGS and NGC have combined to certify 28 examples between them, a total that almost certainly includes a number of resubmissions and crossovers. This coin has been exhibited, along with the rest of the Harry Bass Core Collection, at the Edward C. Rochette Money Museum, at the headquarters of the American Numismatic Association in Colorado Springs, since 2001.

An 1835 Quarter Eagle, HM-1, PR67 Deep Cameo prompted 30 bids before it sold for a record $1.2 million; the previous record was just under $176,000. From the Eliasberg Collection with an earlier provenance to the George H. Earle Collection, this example is the finest certified proof Classic Head quarter eagle, the only one to receive the PR67 numerical grade and one of just four PCGS submissions boasting the Deep Cameo designation. This magnificent example is one of fewer than three dozen remaining from 1834-39, a distinction made rarer by the fact that four reside in the Smithsonian Institution, and another in the British Museum.

A 1798/7 BD-2 Eagle, MS62 was the fourth lot to reach seven figures when it ended at $1.11 million, surpassing the previous record of $705,000. It is the third-finest known example, and one of the two above it is housed in the Smithsonian Institution.

A 1796 BD-2 No Stars Quarter Eagle, MS63 brought a winning bid of $990,000. The 1796 No Stars Quarter Eagle ranks among the most sought-after and important types in the entire United States series, and ranks within the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins compiled by Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth with the input of many of the hobby’s top experts. Not only is the 1796 Quarter Eagle the first two-and-a-half-dollar gold issue manufactured in this country, this variant without stars around the obverse was struck only for a few months before being replaced by a modified version with stars.

An 1820 BD-6 Half Eagle, MS64+ PCGS, the second-finest of the variety, ended at $900,000, erasing the previous record of $282,000. This is the first of three 1820-dated obverse dies with the Curl Base 2, and this example is one of what is believed to be no more than 10 remaining examples.

Part III of Heritage Auctions’ Bass Collection will be in April, and Part IV in August.

In 2022, the Harry W. Bass Jr. Foundation gave grants to 50 Dallas-area nonprofits, including Reading Partners North Texas, Momentous Institute, Bachman Lake Together, the North Texas Food Bank, Buckner Children & Family Services, Inc., Mi Escuelita Preschool, Inc., ChildCareGroup and Urban Teachers.

The foundation also donated $160,000 to the American Numismatic Association following the collection’s departure from its museum in Colorado.

Complete results can be found at HA.com/1355.

Unique New Jersey $3 Banknote, Keys To Fabled Ship’s Treasure Room, and Polhemus Counter-Stamped Double Eagle Also Set Records In Holabird Western Americana Collections Auction

A unique wooden lid to a Wells Fargo & Co. treasure box was one of the many California Gold Rush sunken treasure highlights recovered from the fabled “Ship of Gold,” the S.S. Central America that sank in 1857, in the Holabird Western Americana Collections (www.HoladbirdAmericana.com) auction held December 3, 2022 in Reno, Nevada and online. The lid with the engraved name “Wells Fargo & Co./New York” boldly visible sold for $99,600.

Another never-before-offered numismatic item recovered from the legendary ship were Purser Edward W. Hull’s keys to the ship’s treasure cargo storage room. The keys attached to a personalized brass name tag sold for $102,300.

“There has never been anything like the scope of these recovered artifacts which represented a time capsule of daily life during the Gold Rush. The auction took over eight hours for only 270 lots because of the exceptionally large number of bids,” said Fred Holabird, president of Holabird Western Americana Collections.

Holabird advised there will be just one final opportunity to acquire previously unavailable S.S. Central America artifacts when the last items recovered from the fabled ship are offered in a public auction on February 25, 2023.

“There were five recovered banknotes in the auction. They were among 11 ‘broken bank’ notes found in the Purser’s safe that was retrieved from the seabed in 2014 after being submerged for 157 years about 7,200 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off North Carolina. The other recovered notes will be offered in in February auction,” explained Holabird.

One of the five banknotes in the December auction is a $3 denomination note issued by the State Bank of Newark, New Jersey. It is the only known example to have been in circulation, apparently used to purchase a ticket on the legendary ship at dockside the day the ship left New York on a voyage to Panama.

These are the winning bids on the five banknotes in the auction that the Purser accepted while assuming the issuing banks were alive and well at the time:

• Bank of Syracuse, New York, $5, Haxby G12c., $5,280.
• Exchange Bank, Bangor, Maine, $5, Haxby G8., $5,760.
• North River Bank, New York, $20, Haxby G50c., $1,380
• Peoples Bank $5, Charleston, South Carolina, Haxby G2a., $3,720.
• State Bank of Newark, New Jersey, $3, Haxby proof only, $5,160.

“Some of the notes undoubtedly were used by passengers to pay for their tickets. The money was accepted perhaps because the Purser did not yet know the banks that issued the paper money had failed,” explained Dwight Manley, Managing Partner of the California Gold Marketing Group which consigned the notes to the auction.

An 1856-S Double Eagle counter-stamped by Sacramento, California drug store owner J.L. Polhemus sold for $43,200. It is graded PCGS AU58 and encapsulated in a special PCGS holder with a pinch of recovered gold dust.

In addition to the lid from a Wells Fargo gold shipment box, a treasure shipment box from San Francisco Gold Rush-era bankers Sather & Church sold for $6,300. A cloth bag found in the Purser’s safe brought $4,300. It had the word “Dimes” written in black ink on it, although 2014 recovery mission records indicated it had held U.S. quarters and half-dollars.

A gold stickpin crafted with a U.S. Type II $1 gold coin of 1854-1856 sold for $5,040, and a sampling of nine unconserved pocket change coins gathered from the seafloor around the shipwreck site sold for $1,920.

Among the other lots in the auction were recovered exquisite Gold Rush jewelry, vintage 1850s clothing and other unique artifacts from the legendary ship. The oldest known pair of miner’s heavy-duty work pants sold for $114,000, the highest price ever paid for jeans. The auction catalog contained an extensive explanation of why the jeans may have been made by or for Levi Strauss Company.

“Seemingly ordinary items from the passengers and crew today give us extraordinary insight into the everyday lives of the people who traveled on the steamship,” said scientist Bob Evans who was on each of the recovery missions.

The tragedy of the S.S. Central America sinking took the lives of 425 of the ship’s 578 passengers and crewmembers, and the loss of the gold cargo was a major factor in the economically devastating financial Panic of 1857 in the United States.

Insurance claims for the loss were paid in the 1850s and the company that discovered and retrieved the treasure starting in 1988 settled with the insurers and their successors in 1992. With court approval, California Gold Marketing Group subsequently acquired clear title to all of that remaining treasure as well as all the items later recovered in 2014. For additional information about the recovered artifacts and the February 2023 auction, visit Holabird Western Americana Collections of Reno, Nevada at www.HolatbirdAmericana.com, call 775-851-1859, or email info@holabirdamericana.com.

Banknotes found in Purser’s safe and recovered treasure shipment boxes will
be offered for the first time in December 3, 2022 auction

A unique $3 denomination note issued by a New Jersey bank is among a small number of banknotes that survived the 1857 sinking of the fabled “Ship of Gold,” the S.S. Central America, and soon will be offered to collectors for the first time. They are among the many highlights of California Gold Rush-era artifacts in an auction to be conducted on December 3, 2022 in Reno, Nevada and online by Holabird Western Americana Collections (www.HolabirdAmericana.com).

The $3 note was issued by the State Bank of Newark, New Jersey, and is the only known example to have been in circulation, apparently used to purchase a ticket on the legendary ship.

Other numismatic items recovered from the legendary ship, including gold treasure shipment boxes, gold miners’ pokes, and bags from the Purser’s safe that contained coins during the ill-fated voyage, are also in the first of two planned auctions of never-before-offered unique artifacts from the ship.

“Some collectors have been waiting for these extraordinary items to come on the market since the legendary, submerged ship was located in 1988 and Life magazine proclaimed it America’s greatest treasure ever found,” said Fred Holabird, President of Holabird Western Americana Collections.

The auction will be conducted at the Reno, Nevada Convention Center and online on Saturday, December 3. A second auction of hundreds of additional one-of-a-kind artifacts retrieved from the famous shipwreck will be offered in February 2023.

“There will be five recovered banknotes in the December auction. They are among 11 ‘broken bank’ notes found in the Purser’s safe that was retrieved from the seabed in 2014 after being submerged for 157 years about 7,200 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off North Carolina. The other recovered notes will be offered in an auction in February 2023,” explained Holabird.

The five banknotes in the upcoming auction are:

• Bank of Syracuse, New York, $5, Haxby G12c.
• Exchange Bank, Bangor, Maine, $5, Haxby G8.
• North River Bank, New York, $20, Haxby G50c.
• Peoples Bank $5, Charleston, South Carolina, Haxby G2a.
• State Bank of Newark, New Jersey, $3.

The notes have been expertly conserved by the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, Maryland.

“Some of the notes undoubtedly were used by passengers to pay for their tickets. The money was accepted perhaps because the Purser did not yet know the banks that issued the paper money had failed,” explained Dwight Manley, Managing Partner of the California Gold Marketing Group which consigned the notes to the auction.

Cargo treasure boxes in the auction include the lid from a Wells Fargo gold shipment box and a treasure shipment box from San Francisco Gold Rush-era bankers Sather & Church. There are also gold miners’ pokes (small satchels or pouches usually made of buckskin) and a cloth bag found in the Purser’s safe with the word “Dimes” written in black ink on it, although records indicated it had held U.S. quarters and half-dollars.

A gold stickpin crafted with a U.S. Type II $1 gold coin of 1854-1856, the Purser’s keys to the treasure storage room and a sampling of nine unconserved pocket change coins gathered from the seafloor around the shipwreck of the SS Central America will also be offered along with nearly 300 lots of recovered exquisite Gold Rush jewelry, vintage 1850s clothing and other unique artifacts from the legendary ship.

Clothing items include the important discovery of the oldest known Gold Rush-era miner’s work pants jeans with a button fly that may have been made by or for Levi Strauss in his early years in business. The pants and early Brooks Brothers undershirts with the company’s famous emblem that will also be in the auction were in the first-class passenger trunk of merchant and Mexican-American War military veteran John Dement of Oregon.

“Seemingly ordinary items from the passengers and crew today give us extraordinary insight into the everyday lives of the people who traveled on the steamship,” said scientist Bob Evans who was on each of the recovery missions.

The tragedy of the S.S. Central America sinking took the lives of 425 of the ship’s 578 passengers and crewmembers, and the loss of the gold cargo was a major factor in the economically devastating financial Panic of 1857 in the United States.

Insurance claims for the loss were paid in the 1850s and the company that discovered and retrieved the treasure starting in 1988 settled with the insurers and their successors in 1992. With court approval, California Gold Marketing Group acquired clear title to all of that remaining treasure in 1999 as well as all the items recovered in 2014.

Holabird Western Americana Collections has prepared an extensive, limited edition 280-page catalog with dozens of previously unpublished illustrations of the S.S. Central America recovery operations, some reproduced in 3-D as shot during the discovery missions with a remote-controlled submersible nicknamed “Nemo.” Copies of the catalog are available while supplies last for $100 each with the price refundable with any purchase from the auction. Auction lots can also be viewed online.

For additional information about the recovered artifacts auctions planned for December 2022 and February 2023 and to obtain a printed catalog, visit Holabird Western Americana Collections of Reno, Nevada at www.HolabirdAmericana.com, call 775-851-1859, or email info@holabirdamericana.com.

Rare 1786 Maris New Jersey Copper also featured in November 2 event

A magnificent 1792 Washington President Cent is arguably the top draw in Heritage Auctions’ Estate of Mike Coltrane Collection of U.S. Coins Signature® Auction Nov. 2.

All 86 lots in the event are from the collection of Coltrane, who died in January.

“Mike’s interest in numismatics mirrors his career in banking, and is reflected in this extraordinary collection,” says Jim Halperin, Co-Founder of Heritage Auctions. “His interests ranged from Federal coppers to Territorial gold issues, all represented in this auction. It even includes a specialized collection of historic North Carolinian bank letters and deposit records, many of which are related to the Charlotte Mint and gold bullion receipts. Every lot in this auction merits the attention normally afforded to trophy pieces.”

The 1792 Washington President Cent, XF40, CAC is one of the most memorable and important Colonials that one was a part of the collection of Eric P. Newman. Featuring the “T” below Washington’s shoulder, this is a singular piece that holds considerable historical significance. There are two major types of the Washington President cents distinguished by their reverses, featuring either the eagle and 13 stars that appear on this example or the General of the American Armies. Many subscribe to the traditional viewpoint that these pieces are closely related to the 1791 Large Eagle and Small Eagle cents.

A 1786 Maris 18-M New Jersey Copper is being offered publicly for just the third time in the last century. Featuring the famous “Bridle” crack connecting the tips of the horse’s nose and trunk is only slightly visible on this early die state, it is the single finest New Jersey copper, this piece is the only MS66 NGC coin with none finer (8/22).

A 1788 New Jersey Copper, MS63 Brown is the finest known Maris 50-f and the only Mint State Head Left Copper. So immaculate are the fields that the Garrett cataloger described the piece as “Prooflike Uncirculated,” a bold statement for any Confederation-era copper. This coin, then owned by Albany numismatist John G. Mills, was sold by the Chapman brothers with the rest of his collection in 1904. The Mills sale was the first auction in which Robert Garrett, son of T. Harrison Garrett and brother of John Work Garrett, participated. While this coin is recorded as having been bought at the auction by the Chapmans themselves for $38, a handwritten note in their bid book states, “Sold Garrett $45,” indicating that it was sold directly to Robert Garrett after the sale and not to James Ellsworth. From Robert, the collection passed to his brother John Work Garrett, and thence to Johns Hopkins University, remaining there until the 1980 Bowers & Ruddy sale.

A beautiful, octagonal 1852 Assay Office Fifty Dollar, AU55+, CAC is a prime example of the Augustus Humbert United States Assay Office fifties that are icons of American coinage. They originally were introduced in 1851, and various iterations of the octagonal design were manufactured through 1852. The K-13 variety is struck in .887 fine gold and features UNITED STATES ASSAY OFFICE OF GOLD SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA around the obverse border.

The 1788 Miller 9-E Connecticut Copper, MS63 Brown offered in this auction is likely the finest known of this die pairing. The only piece that comes close is the heavily flawed Ford coin that appeared as part of the Robert Martin Collection, and is graded MS61 Brown NGC. Like most examples, the offered coin is imperfectly centered.

Another Washington cent in the auction is a virtually flawless 1792 Getz Pattern Cent, AU53 that is No. 17 in George Fuld’s Condition Census of the copper Getz patterns. This coin from the Donald G. Partrick Collection is the largest diameter and second-heaviest example of any recorded Getz pattern in copper or silver. Heritage Auctions experts know of 83 distinctively different Getz patterns; the offered example is the only one with coin-turn die alignment.

A 1797 C-1, B-1 Half Cent, MS65★ Brown, CAC is immediately identifiable by the misplaced “1” that is too close to the bust. This piece is arguably the finest surviving example from these dies and it is visually finer than the Missouri Cabinet coin that was struck over a Talbot, Allum & Lee token and described as possibly the finest known. 

Lot viewing is available in Dallas by appointment through Nov. 2.

Images and information about all lots in this auction can be found at HA.com/1350.

Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Brussels, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.

Total from 3 Heritage coin and currency auctions held during Long Beach Expo top $49 million

One of just two known examples of an extraordinary hand-signed, triple signature 1882 $100 gold certificate lived up to its billing – and then some – when it sold for $750,000 to lead Heritage Auctions’ Long Beach Expo US Currency Signature® Auction – Long Beach to $10,682,198 Oct. 5-7.

The event was part of an extraordinary week of Heritage Long Beach Expo auctions. The Harry W. Bass Jr. Core Collection Part I US Coins Signature^® Auction reached $20,459,645, then the Long Beach Expo US Currency Signature® Auction – Long Beach brought $10,682,198. Last but not least, the second Long Beach Expo US Coins Signature® Auction finished at $17,875,326 boosting the three events to $49,017,169, setting a new all-time record for any Long Beach Expo numismatic auction total.

The only privately-owned example of this exceptional banknote – the other is in a much lower grade and was transferred in 1978 from the Treasury Department to the Smithsonian Institution – this Fr. 1202 $100 1882 Gold Certificate PMG Very Fine 30 from The Allan J. Goldman Collection finished atop a list of 10 lots that drew six-figure results.

“You have to remember, only the first 9,000 that were printed and issued were hand-signed by Thomas C. Acton, who served as the superintendent of the New York Assay Office, Assistant U.S. Treasurer and the founder and president of the Bank of New Amsterdam,” says Dustin Johnston, Vice President of Currency at Heritage Auctions, “and of those, only two are known to have survived – a microscopic survival rate. With the other known survivor secured in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian, this is a remarkable example that immediately assumes a prominent position in its new collection.”

A Fr. 2230-E $10,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Choice About Unc 58 soared to $504,000 – exceeding its pre-auction estimate by $104,000. The sole finest-graded 1928 $10,000 Federal Reserve Note represents the ultimate combination of rarity and condition: it is one of just 10 known for the type … and two of those are housed in museum collections. “This note captured the title for most expensive Small Size type note when it last sold,” Johnston says. “On Thursday night, it recaptured the title.”

A Fr. 2231-B $10,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note. PCGS Banknote Choice Unc 64, once a part of the famed $1 million display at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, more than doubled its pre-auction estimate when it climbed to $312,000. This historic banknote, with serial number B00003059A, was part of the renowned display that was composed of 100 Series 1934 $10,000 FRNs on the New York district framed by a large gold-color horseshoe. The open end of the horseshoe was on the bottom and the notes were exhibited in five columns of 20 notes each; the note sold in this auction is one of the nicest examples featured in the display.

Also unique in private hands was a Fr. 1203 $100 1882 Gold Certificate PMG Choice Fine 15, which drew a winning bid of $300,000. All of the major Gold Certificate offerings were from the first issuing period, prior to 1891. Among the most important of these rarities is the Fr. 1203, featuring the Signatures of Blanch Bruce and A.U. Wyman, who served jointly in the Treasury from April 1883 to April 1885. This magnificent note is one of just three known examples; the two others are part of the Federal Reserve Bank Collections in Richmond and New York.

Another high-denomination prize in the event was a Fr. 2220-F $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Choice Very Fine 35, which rode a surge of more than a dozen bids to $216,000. Track & Price has enumerated just 19 serial numbers for the 1928 Series as compared to 109 for the 1934 Series. The serial number on this note is F00000077A and has been included in the census data for years. The 1928 notes have the “redeemable in gold on demand” obligation clause, while the 1934 notes sport the “redeemable in lawful money” obligation clause.

Other top lots included, but were not limited to:

A Fr. 2231-G $10,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Extremely Fine 40: $192,000

Unique in private hands, a New Orleans, LA – $50 1875 Fr. 444 The Hibernia National Bank Ch. # 2086 PMG Very Fine 30: $174,000

A Fr. 1218f $1,000 1882 Gold Certificate PMG Very Fine 25 from The Allan H. Goldman Collection: $156,000

The finest known Fr. 174 $100 1880 Legal Tender PMG Choice Uncirculated 64: $156,000

A Fr. 1200 $50 1922 Gold Certificate PMG Superb Gem Unc 67 EPQ – the sole finest large-size $50 gold: $102,000

Complete results can be found at HA.com/3589.

A magnificent 1821 half eagle rode a burst of furiously competitive bidding all the way to $4.62 million, leading one of the finest collections of U.S. gold coins and related patterns ever assembled to $20,459,645 in Heritage Auctions’ Harry W. Bass Jr. Core Collection Part I US Coins Signature^®Auction — Long Beach Sept. 29.

Proceeds from the auction will benefit the dozens of Dallas-based nonprofits supported by the Harry W. Bass Jr. Foundation, with a particular emphasis on early childhood education and literacy in Dallas.

“The Bass Trustees are thrilled with the results and grateful to the Heritage Auctions team for its outstanding execution of this sale” said David Calhoun, executive director of the Harry Bass Foundation. “It was an exciting event that far exceeded our expectation.”

Many lots in the auction set new auction records, including:

The 1821 Capped Head Left Five, PR65 Cameo: $4,620,000 (previous record: $198,000)

An 1854 Gold Dollar, PR65 Deep Cameo: $720,000 (previous record: $68,750)

An 1833 Quarter Eagle, PR63 Cameo: $408,000 (previous record: $50,600)

An 1860-S Three Dollar Gold, MS64: $360,000 (previous record: $37,600)

An 1855-S Three Dollar, MS64: $264,000 (previous record: $64,625)

The event generated perfect sell-through rates of 100% by value and by lots sold. The lineage of many of the coins in this auction can be traced to the heralded auction of Louis E. Eliasberg Sr.’s gold coin collection in 1982.

As a proof, the 1821 Capped Head Left half eagle is prohibitively rare; only two proof examples are known, one of which is included in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution.

“This is an extraordinary coin that brought an extraordinary result,” Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Todd Imhof said. “The fact that the proceeds from this event will benefit dozens of charities in the Dallas community, where Heritage Auctions’ corporate headquarters is located, makes this event exceedingly gratifying.”

The collection has been out of the reach of collectors for more than 50 years, and has been on display at the American Numismatic Association’s Edward C. Rochette Money Museum in Colorado Springs, Colo., since October 2000.  The foundation’s trustees voted earlier this year to sell the collection, which includes roughly 450 U.S. gold coins dating back to the late 1700s, as part of a plan to increase its annual giving from $2 million to at least $5 million, depending on the results of this auction.

The 1821 Half Eagle prompted 70 bids before rising to the top of the auction’s results, but it was one of three coins in the auction that cleared more than $1 million.

A 1804 Capped Bust Right Eagle, PR63 – the discovery coin for the issue – closed at $2.28 million. The 1804 Plain 4 eagle was struck for inclusion in the diplomatic presentation proof sets that also included the famous 1804 dollars. Initially collected as a regular proof of 1804, later considered a pattern, and finally recognized as a special striking, produced by the Mint to fulfill a specific government purpose, it is now one of the rarest and most valuable U.S. coins. Only four specimens were struck, just three of which can be positively confirmed today. Even the great institutional collections at the Smithsonian and the American Numismatic Society do not include an example of this fabulous rarity.

The second-finest 1860 Liberty Double Eagle, PR65+ Cameo ended at a record $1.2 million (previous record: $367,188). This exceptional example is one of just 59 proof Liberty double eagles duly recorded in 1860, and one of just seven examples traced today.

Other highlights included, but were not limited to:

A 1795 BD-1 13 Leaves Ten Dollar, MS64: $690,000

An 1848 CAL. Quarter Eagle, MS64: $552,000

A 1798 Two and a Half, MS64 Prooflike: $516,000

Since the 1990s, the Harry W. Bass Jr. Foundation has supported qualified 501(c)(3) organizations throughout Dallas, primarily focusing on youth and education. Among its more than four dozen recipients, the foundation counts Frazier Revitalization in South Dallas, Head Start of Greater Dallas, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas, the Momentous Institute, Bachman Lake Together in Northwest Dallas and Readers 2 Leaders in West Dallas. But the foundation also helps feed the hungry through such nonprofits as Crossroads Community Services (which provides nutritional assistance for at-risk children in Dallas County), and it supports Austin Street Center‘s work with Dallas’ unsheltered.

Complete results can be found at HA.com/1353.

The next installment of the Harry W. Bass Jr. Collection will be offered Jan. 4-9 through Heritage Auctions at the FUN US Coins Signature® Auction.

Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Brussels, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.