PCGS - Welcome to the latest issue of Rare Coin Market Report Auction News, where we will discuss three significant coins that recently sold at auction. With many auctions moving toward an online or remote-only bidding system due to COVID-19, bidders have continued undauntedly by posting respectable offers for some great coins.
1955 PCGS MS65+RD Doubled Die Lincoln Cent, $124,875The first coin we will discuss is a 1955 Doubled Die
Lincoln Cent. It is one of the most dramatic doubled dies in existence, with prominent doubling in the date, throughout the word "LIBERTY," and "IN GOD WE TRUST." It's estimated that possibly 20,000 examples of the 1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Cents were accidentally struck at the Philadelphia Mint. It's a rare coin, with even circulated examples in Extremely Fine condition sell for about $1,350 each. In lower Mint State grades, such as MS62 or MS63, they usually sell for several thousand dollars each. In higher Mint State grades of MS64 or MS65, they're challenging to locate and worth a fortune.
PCGS has graded a total of just 20 examples as MS65RD, a grade point at which these coins typically command about $35,000 at auction. There is also one lone example graded MS65+RD, with none being graded higher at PCGS. You can only imagine what a surprise it was when this highest-graded PCGS MS65+RD example came up for bids. GreatCollections auctioned it on March 1, 2020, where the coin realized $124,875. Furthermore, the coin had a total of 14 bidders, some 7,948 views, and 145 potential bidders watching!
1854-S PCGS AU58+ Liberty Head $5 Gold Half Eagle, $1,920,000The next coin highlighted here is an 1854-S $5 Gold Half Eagle. Despite having a mintage of 268, there have only been four different examples that have ever surfaced. One of them is in the Smithsonian Institution. A second example was stolen from famous collector Willis du Pont in 1967 and remains unaccounted for. The third is the F.C.C. Boyd coin that was sold in 1946. Lastly, there is the fourth coin that was discovered in 2018 by a New Englander.
The 1854-S $5 Gold Half Eagle is an extreme rarity, and any time one of these coins makes an auction appearance, it is considered a special numismatic event. Even more exciting is that the highest-preserved example graded PCGS AU58+ (the F.C.C. Boyd example) recently made a rare auction appearance in a Stack's Bowers Galleries offering on March 20, 2020, when it realized an amazing $1,920,000. We may not see this coin at auction for many more years - maybe even decades.
1858 PCGS MS66+ Small Letters Flying Eagle cent, $40,800The
Flying Eagle cent was only struck for three years — from 1856 to 1858 — before the
Indian cent replaced it. Thankfully, many examples of
Flying Eagle cents still survive even in high Mint States grades, despite them being struck for only a few years. Much credit is due to those over the years who have helped preserve such higher-grade examples of this very short-lived series so that collectors can enjoy them today.
On April 23, 2020, a PCGS MS66+ 1858 Small Letters
Flying Eagle cent was offered by Heritage Auctions, where it sold for $40,800. The coin stood out because of its flashy, lustrous surfaces. It is a mesmerizing coin, to say the least, as it displays strong, vibrant red luster. Additionally, the strike and details of the coin are just phenomenal.
Posted 08/28/2020 7:46 pm
