1849 $10 Miners Bank Ten Dollar Copper Pattern, Kagin-1, R.8, AU50 NGC. When Donald H. Kagin published the still-standard reference, Private Gold Coins and Patterns of the United States, this copper pattern received an R.8 rating. The principals of the Miners Bank are identified as Stephen Wright and Samuel Haight, who also issued paper money that likely saw very little circulation. An attractive copper pattern for the Miners Bank ten-dollar gold piece, this example displays pleasing tawny-brown surfaces with a few minor marks and trivial rim bumps. This is the first example of the copper pattern that we have handled since we started our Permanent Auction Archives in 1993. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.

Heritage Newman IX, November 2017, lot 15115, realized $25200. Images and description courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

1907 $20 High Relief, Wire Rim MS64+ NGC. CAC. Often called the most beautiful American coin design, the Saint-Gaudens double eagle exhibited intricate treatment of the drapery and equal depth of the reverse design, rendering a three-dimensional appearance rarely seen on American coins before or since. Barbara Baxter writes in her chapter on "Coins and Medals" published in Augustus Saint-Gaudens 1848-1907, A Master of American Sculpture: {blockquote}Saint-Gaudens coins and medals set a new standard for American numismatic art, and the precedent that he established resulted in the commissioning of other professional artists, notably his former associates Bela Lyon Pratt, James Earle Fraser, and A.A. Weinman, to redesign other denominations of the coinage.{/blockquote} This example displays the intricate working on the drapery to full effect, giving the coin much of its three-dimensional appearance. High Reliefs were struck three times on a medal press from specially selected planchets. The surfaces show the usual bright satiny mint luster with just a touch of light reddish patina. Fully struck, of course. The accompanying envelope shows Eric Newman purchased this High Relief for $150. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.

Heritage Newman IX, November 2017, lot 15108, realized $36000. Images and description courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

1839/8 $10 Large Letters AU50 NGC. Christian Gobrecht's original Liberty Head design, issued in 1838 and early 1839, portrayed Liberty with a more elegant hair style and curved bust truncation than on later issues. The two-year type is scarce and sought-after in high grade. This About Uncirculated example displays light field chatter and original olive-gold patina. Some prooflike reflectivity is visible in the protected regions of the reverse, as is characteristic. Remnants of the 1839/8 overdate are plainly visible on this piece along the right edge of the 9. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.

Heritage Newman IX, November 2017, lot 15107, realized $5160. Images and description courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

1800 $10 BD-1, High R.3, AU58 NGC. CAC. Bass-Dannreuther Die State c/e. This late die state variant of the 1800 eagle was likely struck in 1801. The 1800 reverse die first appeared on the final 1799 variety and was carried over into 1800. In 1801, its service continued, but the 1801 head die terminally cracked early in production, forcing the Mint to reuse the outdated 1800 obverse. This created a remarriage for the BD-1 1800 die variety. Clash marks from the dentils above the STA in STATES and die lapping at the clouds and the eagle's neck identify the remarriage die state. This nearly Uncirculated coin is straw-gold with warm peach and coppery accents in the fields. Original luster is luminous under a light, and the surfaces are devoid of distracting abrasions. The strike is bold. Several mint-made adjustment marks are faintly present along the upper-right reverse border. The aesthetics of this piece surpass those of many Uncirculated coins that we have seen. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.

Heritage Newman IX, November 2017, lot 15106, realized $33600. Images and description courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

1796 $10 BD-1, R.4, AU53 NGC. Bass-Dannreuther Die State c/b. There are 11 leaves on the branch below the eagle and 16 obverse stars (8 left, 8 right) on the BD-1 eagle, which was struck after the June 1 admission of Tennessee to the United States. This example displays the most frequently encountered die stage, with a bisecting vertical crack that runs beneath E in LIBERTY through the portrait, ending at the bust edge above 9 in the date. With a reported mintage of 4,196 pieces, the 1796 Capped Bust Right eagle is considerably scarcer than the inaugural 1795 issue. The official mintage may be overstated, since early Mint records are often unclear. Dies were used interchangeably without regard to year as long as they were serviceable. Later die states of the 1796 eagle were clearly struck in 1797 -- a remarriage of the 1796 obverse with a late stage of the reverse, after the reverse die was used to strike 1797-dated coins. The Bass-Dannreuther reference estimates only 125 to 175 pieces exist, and suggests that as few as 3,500 1796-dated pieces were struck. We estimate only about four dozen pieces in About Uncirculated or finer conditions survive. The Eric P. Newman kraft envelope describes this coin as a "Perfect Unc. Gem," although some faint rub on the eagle, cap, and forecurl combine for the About Uncirculated designation by NGC. The grade seems a bit conservative, given the exceptional eye appeal, quality of the fields, and a lack of enumerative marks. The breast feathers are nearly complete. Minor incompleteness at the legs, neck, and shoulders of the eagle do not detract from the overall sharpness, nor do some faint parallel striations in the hair that are visible with a glass. Prooflike surface remains at the margins and surrounds the eagle. Beautiful Tuscan-gold color retains mint luster in protected areas, with reddish-orange highlights and dappled violet accents. This is a perfectly centered, original example with strong, unblemished rims and sharp dentils throughout both sides. Ex: "Colonel" E.H.R. Green; Green Estate via Hans M.F. Schulman 5/10/1944; Eric P. Newman @ $250.00; Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.

Heritage Newman IX, November 2017, lot 15105, realized $78128.4. Images and description courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

1810 $5 Large Date, Large 5, BD-4, R.2, XF45 NGC. CAC. Bass-Dannreuther Die State a/a, perfect dies. Eric Newman acquired this piece decades ago for the bargain price of $35.00. A CAC-endorsed Choice XF example, it displays only light high-point wear and deep original patina. The fields have amber, orange, and olive-gold hues. Some minor strike weakness occurs on the eagle's talons and the fletchings although the Liberty portrait is well-defined. With as many as 750 examples of this variety believed known, BD-4 is a popular issue among early gold type and date collectors. The present coin is outstanding in every respect. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.

Heritage Newman IX, November 2017, lot 15104, realized $7800. Images and description courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

1800 $5 BD-4, R.4 - Obverse Repaired, Cleaned - NGC Details. AU. Bass-Dannreuther Die State c/a, perfect reverse. The M in AMERICA is recut on BD-4. Only 125-175 pieces are believed known in all grades. This piece is in the earliest die state without clash marks or die cracks on the reverse. The reverse is bright yellow-gold and slightly reflective in the fields with minor strike weakness on the eagle's left (facing) talons and neck feathers. The obverse exhibits extensive tooling of the portrait and fields that effaces old abrasions; the result is a smooth, luminous appearance that is not unattractive to the naked eye. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.

Heritage Newman IX, November 2017, lot 15103, realized $4200. Images and description courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

1795 $5 Small Eagle, BD-3, High R.3, MS64 NGC. CAC. Bass-Dannreuther Die State c/b, the later die state, showing a linear engraver's mark connecting the E in UNITED to the dentils. The fields are uniformly semiprooflike, and the devices show even definition that lacks sharpness only on the eagle's right (facing) leg. Old-time peach, olive, and orange-gold hues warm the surfaces, while a lack of abrasions earns the coveted CAC endorsement. This is one of the most eye-appealing Small Eagle type coins we have seen and a Condition Census example of the BD-3 die pairing. All varieties included, NGC and PCGS report nineteen 1795 Small Eagle fives in MS64 or finer, the sole finest being a lone MS66 S BD-1 at NGC (8/17), although some duplication likely exists among those figures. Our Permanent Auction Archives, begun in 1993, lists only 12 previous offerings of a 1795 half eagle in MS64 or finer, wherein just six individual coins were represented: one MS66 S, one MS65, and four MS64. Of these six, only one coin -- an MS64 -- was a BD-3, despite this variety's reputation for being plentiful among 1795 half eagles. In Mint State, BD-3 is a distinguished rarity on a par with many of the other Small Eagle die pairings. Half eagles were the inaugural gold coinage of the United States Mint, the first delivery from the Coiner occurring in July 1795. During the remainder of the year and likely leading into the first deliveries of 1796, the Mint used eight obverse and nine reverse dies to strike 1795-dated half eagles. A combined 12 different die varieties were created. Early numismatists such as John C. Randall, William H. Woodin, and Edgar Adams studied half eagle die varieties as early as the 1880s. Randall's collection (W. Elliot Woodward, 6/1885) included seven different 1795 Small Eagle die combinations. In the preface to the catalog, Woodward wrote: {blockquote}"The silver Dollars, Half Dollars and Quarters, and the early gold represent nearly every known die and combination of dies. In this respect the collection is in the first rank, and it may be said 'it is first, and there is no second.'"{/blockquote} Randall was a mentor to Woodin in studying early half eagles by die variety. Woodin's half eagle exhibit at the 1914 ANS Exhibition included 11 different die combinations of the 1795 Small Eagle; the variety not represented was BD-11, of which only 3-5 pieces are known today. The early half eagle variety studies of Woodin and Adams were influential in shaping the acclaimed die and die state analysis performed by Harry W. Bass, Jr., which is presented in detail in John Dannreuther's reference Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties (2006). Of the 12 Small Eagle varieties, BD-3 is the most plentiful. Two of the most prominent diagnostics are the close spacing of stars 11 and 12 next to the Y, and on the reverse, the wreath branches meeting equidistantly between the S and O. Woodin's ANS exhibit contained a single BD-3 coin, described thusly: {blockquote}"Obv. C. Date not so wide. Top of 5 long, touches bust. L touches turban further down, E nearest hair. "Rev. D. Four berries in a line, leaf in wreath under left part of O."{/blockquote} BD-3 likely represented a large portion of the 74 Small Eagle fives in the "Colonel" Green inventory in the 1940s, and the present example was one of the finest therein. High-grade BD-3 coins (possibly some of the same pieces as in the Green estate) also appeared earlier in the George H. Earle Collection (Henry Chapman, 6/1912) and the Newcomer plates. The Smithsonian Institution eventually accumulated five examples of the variety, including one each from the Mint Cabinet, Josiah Lilly, and the Chase Manhattan donation of 1979, and two from F.A. Hauck. Dannreuther estimates that 175-225 examples of the variety survive today in all grades. The pedigree of the present example is unknown prior to "Colonel" Green. Green's extensive gold collection was acquired in increments by Stack's in the 1940s from the executors of the Green estate, Chase Manhattan National Bank. Stack's acquisition of the entire collection was motivated in part by a need to satisfy a request from King Farouk of Egypt for a complete set of United States gold coinage. His Majesty's order was the first disbursement of gold coins from the Green estate and consisted primarily of the finest pieces, early half eagles included. After the Farouk purchase, another set of Green's gold coins went to Clifford T. Weihman, and additional pieces were eventually absorbed into, among others, the collections of J.F. Bell, Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr., and Eric P. Newman. Eric Newman acquired this BD-3 half eagle through Stack's in February 1944, not long after King Farouk received his complete set from the same firm. It is the sole finest BD-3 coin that we have handled since 2008, when a PCGS piece in the same grade garnered $373,750 in lot 3134 of our FUN Signature sale. We believe this example is visually superior to the previous coin and is among the finest BD-3 representatives known -- an eye-catching Condition Census coin that has not traded hands in more than 73 years. Census (all varieties included): 3 in 64, 7 finer; 1 in 64 Prooflike, 1 finer (8/17). Ex: "Colonel" E.H.R. Green; Green Estate; Partnership of Eric P. Newman / B.G. Johnson d.b.a. St. Louis Stamp and Coin Co.; Eric P. Newman @ $225.00; Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.

Heritage Newman IX, November 2017, lot 15102, realized $336000. Images and description courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

1832 $2 1/2 BD-1, R.4 - Improperly Cleaned - NGC Details. AU. Bass-Dannreuther Die State a/c. Quarter eagle coinage in 1832 amounted to only 4,400 pieces, most of which was eventually melted for the heavy gold weight of the coins (a problem not remedied until 1834). Only 80-100 1832 quarter eagles are believed to survive in all grades. This AU-level coin displays rich reddish overtones atop yellow-gold surfaces. Partial luster remains despite faint hairlines that prevent a numeric grade from NGC. The stars and central devices are sharp. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.

Heritage Newman IX, November 2017, lot 15100, realized $13200. Images and description courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

1802 $2 1/2 BD-3, R.5 -- Mount Removed -- NGC Details. XF. Bass-Dannreuther Die State b/b. The obverse die exhibits light clash marks and the reverse die has a short crack from the wing tip to the border at 2 o'clock and another from the left tip of the shield up to the scroll. Dimes and quarter eagles shared the reverse die that appeared first to strike 1802 BD-3 quarter eagles without die cracks, second to strike 1802 JR-1 dimes, third to strike additional 1802 BD-3 quarter eagles with die cracks as on this example, and fourth to strike 1803 JR-1 dimes, according to John Dannreuther. A mount was skillfully removed from the edge at 12 o'clock with no evidence of the removal apparent when viewing the obverse or reverse. The reddish tinted green-gold surfaces exhibit trivial adjustment marks. Dannreuther estimates that 60 to 75 examples of this variety survive today. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.

Heritage Newman IX, November 2017, lot 15099, realized $9000. Images and description courtesy of Heritage Auctions.