1939 Specimen Strike Quarter: Looking For Information

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 2,271
thedollarman Pillar of the Community Canada 4911 Posts	Posted 08/26/2019 02:48 am As many of you may remember from my more active days, I'm an avid collector of early Canadian Specimen strike coinage...I recently won Mr. Belzberg's former coin, the 1939 SP-66 quarter which was in the Chicago sale; tucked in with a few other Canadian pieces in the third session. My issue is that while most earlier Canadian specimens have a little of info known about them, I can't find a single word of information about the 1939 specimen quarters and dimes. They struck a fairly large quantity of 1939 dollars in Specimen to commemorate the Royal visit, but I can't seem to find any reason for them to strike the dimes and quarters..of which only 5 or 6 dimes are recorded and only 3 quarters. So does anyone have any information on these coins? Was the first auction appearance of one in the 2003 Belzberg sale? Did Pittman own one? I don't have the Pittman catalogue to be able to look it up although it appears Norweb didn't possess an example. Perhaps Mr. belzberg, (welcome to this wonderful forum by the way!) you could shed some light on the origins of this coin? Feel free to call me Will. Edited by thedollarman 08/26/2019 02:51 am Report this Post to the Staff

Sid Belzberg Valued Member Canada 50 Posts	Posted 08/26/2019 1:09 pm Congrats on the acquisition of a real rarity. My Pittman catalogue is at my Toronto home and I am in New York at the moment. I can't remember if I got this coin from Pittman but it would not surprise me if I did. He acquired most of his George Vi specimen material from ex mint employees and their heirs in the early 1950's replete with spectacular rarities such as multiple 1944 sets and of course the 1936 dot sets. Apparently, in 1939 there were a few collectors of the then novel design ten cent pieces and 25 cent pieces while the 50 cent pieces and one cent pieces had a more traditional appearance, ie coat of arms etc. So a handful of these two smaller denominations in specimen were struck. Edited by Sid Belzberg 08/26/2019 2:52 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Dollar 1935 Valued Member Canada 321 Posts	Posted 08/28/2019 8:20 pm Congratulation for that stunning coin ! I bidded on that one too but I'm really happy to see it going to a CCF member. A real rarity we probably won't see in a close future Report this Post to the Staff
Everest Pillar of the Community Taiwan 606 Posts	Posted 08/29/2019 01:11 am The Pittman 1939 Sp 25c was described as a Gem. Fully mirror-like with beautiful medium violet and russet toning. Purchased from J Charlton at the 1965 ANA convention for $80. The Pittman sale also contained a 1939 Sp 10 cents described as choice. Same source as the 25c also at the 1965 ANA convention for $60. Congratulations on your purchase. Keep us updated on your research. Report this Post to the Staff
thedollarman Pillar of the Community Canada 4911 Posts	Posted 08/29/2019 3:29 pm Thanks for all the help and congratulations! It's an honor to be the caretaker of your former coin Mr. Belzberg, she'll be safe in my hands! Interesting that Pittman's example was nicely toned..all three certified by PCGS are essentially toning free. ICCS records 3 certified as well although I've always assumed those coins were likely crossed and now are the three PCGS has certified. What an interesting coin..truly rare and mysterious no doubt. If I'm right that the ICCS coins are now all with PCGS, or even that 2 of the 3 are..that would make this coin of about equal rarity to the famed dot cent and dime. I also won the 1938 Specimen cent from Cook..once I get the coin in hand I think I'll end up asking them to remove the pedigree Thanks for the congratulations from all of you! And as a side note Everest, I've seen the Pittman 1939 dime as well..it also resided with Mr. Belzberg up til the sale in 2003. It's a PCGS SP-66 and quite stunning! Oh also! Does the Pittman catalogue have images of his example? If you could post some good pics of the catalogue's images perhaps I can try trace which coin it is nowadays.. Feel free to call me Will. Edited by thedollarman 08/29/2019 3:35 pm Report this Post to the Staff
johnnysprawl Pillar of the Community Canada 1620 Posts	Posted 08/29/2019 9:18 pm Report this Post to the Staff
thedollarman Pillar of the Community Canada 4911 Posts	Posted 08/31/2019 12:22 am @johnnysprawl I opted for the payment plan for this auction so the coin isn't in hand just yet..but here's a link to it https://coins.ha.com/itm/canada/wor...ption-071515 Feel free to call me Will. Report this Post to the Staff
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