here is my example of the s-47 variety. this variety is an R-4 (76-200 examples). the finest known is an xf housed at the ANS. all others are vf or worse. many have problems. this coin is probably ~15th finest known.
Obverse
Reverse
this coin has a rather extensive pedigree. it was handled by:
Benjamin Maximillian Mehl - (excerpt from wikipedia)
Benjamin Maximillian Mehl (November 5, 1884 - September 28, 1957), usually known as B. Max Mehl, was an American dealer in coins, selling them for over half a century. The most prominent dealer in the United States, through much of the first half of the 20th century, he is credited with helping to expand the appeal of coin collecting from a hobby for the wealthy to one enjoyed by many.
Mehl was born in Congress Poland, which was part of the Russian Empire. His family brought him to what is now Lithuania, and then to the United States, settling in Fort Worth, Texas, where he lived for almost all of his adult life. While still a teenager, he began to sell coins, which he had previously collected. Joining the American Numismatic Association (
ANA) in 1903 at age 18, he quickly became a full-time coin dealer, and by 1910 was one of the most well-known in the country.
During his half-century of coin dealing, his customer list included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Colonel E. H. R. Green. He sold coins from the collections of important numismatists at auction, including Jerome Kern and King Farouk. Mehl was the first dealer to advertise in non-numismatic publications, helping to broaden the appeal of the hobby. He claimed to have spent over a million dollars on advertisements offering to buy a 1913 Liberty Head nickel for $50, though he knew there were none in circulation to be found. This got the public to search through their pocket change looking for rare coins that Mehl might buy, and greatly increased sales of Mehl's coin books, adding to his profit.
Many of his great auction sales took place in the 1940s, but by the following decade, he was becoming less active, and he died in 1957; his business continued into the 1960s. Mehl was elected to the Numismatic Hall of Fame in 1974, and to the CoinFacts Dealer Hall of Fame in 2010.
Q. David Bowers described Mehl as "America's most famous rare coin dealer of the first half of the 20th century ... [who] was a promoter of coins and arguably did more to advance the hobby than any other individual of his time"
Sam J Kabealo - Sold the coin at auction 5/53 lot number 13.
Born in California Jan 23 1900. Married to Ella. He conducted business in Youngstown, Ohio, prior to 1947 and Pasadena, California, after 1947. Kabealo conducted 147 auction sales with 118,075 lots from 1930 to 1973. Died in Los Angeles. June 1983
Dr. Charles L. Ruby - Superior galleries sold the coin 2/15/1975 through the Pine Tree EAC sale
EAC #61 died at age of 96 on August 23,1997. Dr. Ruby's numismatic specialties were U. S. large cents and silver dollars and his extensive coin collection was purchased by Superior Stamp & Coin Co. for over a million dollars during three sales conducted in 1974 and 1975.
From the Superior Auction Catalog:
Fred Neggen - Estate Sold the Coin 2/18/1976
Born 12 October 1909. He and wife Ruth compiled an advanced collection of both copper and silver coins through several decades of devotion. Following Fred death on 4 November 1974 the executors of the noggin estate decided to auction the majority of their collection. Sold by Superior Galleries in February 1976.
sale envelope
From the sale catalog
Bertram M Cohen - dealer envelope - dates unknown. further research required.
Del Bland is is noted as a source on unidentified yellow envelope. uncertain if Del owned the coin or is the source for the pedigree. further research required.
Nathan Markowitz - Sold the Coin at EAC 2019 in Dayton, Ohio
Nathan is a Pacific Northwest collector whose major collecting interests lie in early silver, especially early quarters with an additional emphasis on "fat" cents of 1793 and 1794.
and then me.
Posted 09/07/2022 5:54 pm
