Heritage’s September Long Beach US Coins and Currency Auctions Top $22 Million

Record-Setting 1895 Morgan Dollar and Top-Graded 1928 $5,000 Note Lead Heritage’s $22.1 Million Long Beach Expo Numismatic Auctions

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More than 30 bids poured in for an 1895 Morgan Dollar, PR67+ Deep Cameo before it sold for a record $324,000 to lead Heritage’s September 12-15 Long Beach Expo US Coins Signature® Auction to $11,544,441.

1895 Morgan Dollar, PR67+ Deep Cameo
1895 Morgan Dollar, PR67+ Deep Cameo

Coupled with the $10,587,005 from Heritage’s September 11-13 Long Beach Expo US Currency Signature® Auction that was led by a Fr. 2220-E $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ lifted the combined total for the events to $22,131,446.

Fr. 2220-E $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ
Fr. 2220-E $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ

The result for the 1895 Morgan dollar smashed the previous record of $269,500.

"It is possible that as many as 12,000 circulation strike Morgan dollars were produced, but if there are any survivors, they have been kept well out of the public eye," says Todd Imhof, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. "This coin is one of just 880 Proofs that were struck, but most of them are well out of reach of the collecting community, too. This is a magnificent addition to any collection."

Also popular among collectors was Major General Alexander Macomb’s Congressional Gold Medal, which drew 55 bids before closing at $240,000. Macomb was one of 27 War of 1812 veterans honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, which was engraved by Moritz Fürst and was one of several adorned with a battle scene on the reverse. Although bronze duplicates were struck for decades by the U.S. Mint, only Macomb’s personal specimen, which he received directly from the hands of former President James Madison, was struck in gold.

Major General Alexander Macomb's Congressional Gold Medal
Major General Alexander Macomb’s Congressional Gold Medal

A 1909-O Indian Half Eagle, MS64, PCGS CAC Variety 1 ended at $216,000. Just 34,200 were struck in 1909, and the 1909-O Indian half eagle represents the only issue of Bela Lyon Pratt’s design ever struck at the historic facility. When the coins were released into circulation, a few high-quality examples were saved by contemporary collectors.

1909-O Indian Half Eagle, MS64, PCGS CAC Variety 1
1909-O Indian Half Eagle, MS64, PCGS CAC Variety 1

The auction included items from several collections, including the Duffy Family Collection that featured a bumper crop of silver and gold type coins in collector grades. Among the top lots from the collection was a 1907 Rolled Edge Eagle, AU55 PCGS, a beautiful example of the second-rarest issue in the entire series that drew a winning bid of $186,000. The Rolled Edge coins were meant to solve the problems of their Wire Rim pattern predecessors, but fell short; for example, the Rolled Edge coins usually were softly struck in the centers, and Mint Superintendent John Landis did not care for the design, which was soon abandoned in favor of the No Periods motif. This impressive Choice AU specimen is one of just 50 examples that were not melted before distribution.

1907 Rolled Edge Eagle, AU55
1907 Rolled Edge Eagle, AU55

A 1907 High Relief, Wire Rim Double Eagle, MS67★ NGC, among the finest examples of this exceptional coin, finished at $168,000. Augustus Saint-Gaudens believed in the theory of conceiving an idea and then seeing it through, a methodical pace he followed when designing ten and twenty dollar coins at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt. NGC lists nearly three dozen High Reliefs in MS67 and associated Plus and Star grades, but most of those coins are reported for the Flat Rim variant. Wire Rim pieces are, curiously, rarer. NGC lists four Wire Rim coins in MS67, plus one in MS67+, this one in MS67★, and one in MS67+★, with two MS68s finer.

1907 High Relief, Wire Rim Double Eagle, MS67★ NGC
1907 High Relief, Wire Rim Double Eagle, MS67★ NGC

Also from the Duffy Collection comes a 1796 Capped Bust Right Quarter Eagle, AU50 PCGS that reached $152,400. This beauty is from a tiny mintage of just 963 pieces, and when the No Stars motif was abandoned later in the year, it made this coin a celebrated one-year design type that Ron Guth called "one of the most historic and important U.S. gold coins" and Q. David Bowers called "the rarest U.S. gold design." John Dannreuther estimates the BD-2 dies were used to strike 897 pieces of the first-year mintage and the surviving population of the BD-2 variety is 100-125 examples in all grades.

1796 Capped Bust Right Quarter Eagle, AU50
1796 Capped Bust Right Quarter Eagle, AU50

A third prize from the Duffy Collection was a 1793 S-3 Cent, AU55, PCGS CAC that drew more than three dozen bids before it sold for $150,000. Examples in this quality are exceptionally rare: the population graded in 55 sits at just two, with one finer; CAC 1 in 55, with none finer.

Other top lots from the Long Beach Expo US Coins auction included, but were not limited to:

Complete results from the Long Beach Expo US Coins auction can be found at HA.com/1377.

Currency

The Fr. 2220-E $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ that led the currency event comes from the Ronald R. Gustafson Collection, and is the finest PMG-graded Series 1928 in this denomination and the sole finest known 1928 $5,000 from any district.

Fr. 2220-E $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ
Fr. 2220-E $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Gem Uncirculated 65 EPQ

The PMG Population Report has graded just 22 Series 1928 $5,000s for all districts, and this note sits alone atop the list.

"We have seen a number of high-grade $5,000s in recent years, but all of those were from the 1934 Series, and none could compare in quality with this incredible note from the 1928 Series," says Dustin Johnston, Vice President of Numismatics at Heritage Auctions. "The winning bidder won a magnificent note, perhaps the pinnacle of 20th century US type notes."

Another high-denomination trophy in the auction was a Fr. 2230-E $10,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG About Uncirculated that drew a winning bid of $384,000. Series 1928 $10,000 notes are exceedingly rare – PMG has graded from among all districts only seven Series 1928 $10,000 notes, compared to 113 Series 1934 $10,000s. Census keepers experts have found just 10 Series 1928 representatives from all districts combined … and even that number is deceptive, as the only New York and San Francisco examples are housed in the collection of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, meaning just eight remain in the possession of collectors, and of those, this magnificent example carries the second-highest grade.

Fr. 2230-E $10,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG About Uncirculated 53
Fr. 2230-E $10,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG About Uncirculated 53

Also from the Gustafson Collection comes a beautiful Fr. 2220-J $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Extremely Fine 40 that sold for $228,000. One of just two known 1928 Kansas City $5,000s, this extraordinary rarity from an original run of just 720 was acquired by the consignor when Heritage auctioned the massive Taylor Family collection in 2005. Listed at the time in Stephen M. Sullivan’s Small Sized High Denomination Notes as unique, it has since been joined by a PCGS 40 example listed in Track & Price that was sold in 2014.

Fr. 2220-J $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Extremely Fine 40
Fr. 2220-J $5,000 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Extremely Fine 40

The Gustafson Collection included several notes bearing the coveted Serial Number 1, including one of just three known Serial Number 1 Fr. 2200-C $500 1928 Dark Green Seal Federal Reserve Note. PMG About Uncirculated 55 notes, which realized $114,000.

Serial Number 1 Fr. 2200-C $500 1928 Dark Green Seal Federal Reserve Note
Serial Number 1 Fr. 2200-C $500 1928 Dark Green Seal Federal Reserve Note

Heritage experts know of just two other regular serial number 1 examples: a Series 1928 Chicago note that resides in the Smithsonian Institution, and a Series 1934 New York note (a Series 1934 star from Kansas City also could be added to the tiny population). Other serial number 1 notes from the Gustafson Collection included a Serial Number 1 Fr. 1950-K $5 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ that sold for $40,800 and a Serial Number 1 Fr. 2050-F $20 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Choice Uncirculated 63 that brought a winning bid of $21,600.

Serial Number 1 Fr. 1950-K $5 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ
Serial Number 1 Fr. 1950-K $5 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Gem Uncirculated 66 EPQ

Serial Number 1 Fr. 2050-F $20 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Choice Uncirculated 63
Serial Number 1 Fr. 2050-F $20 1928 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Choice Uncirculated 63

A gorgeous Fr. 167a $100 1863 Legal Tender PCGS Choice About New 55PPQ brought $216,800. A rare and attractive $100 Legal known as the "Spread Eagle" note because of the portrait of the eagle with its wings stretched wide on the obverse, it comes from a Track & Price census population of just 23 serial numbers, a figure that has increased only by one since 2016. But five of those examples are out of reach, with two in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, and one each in the ANA Museum and in the collections of the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago and Kansas City, leaving just 18 examples available to collectors.

Fr. 167a $100 1863 Legal Tender PCGS Choice About New 55PPQ
Fr. 167a $100 1863 Legal Tender PCGS Choice About New 55PPQ

Always in high demand are notes with exceptionally low serial numbers, like the Serial Number 3 Fr. 2221-B $5,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Extremely Fine 40 that prompted more than a dozen bids before it sold for $192,000.

Serial Number 3 Fr. 2221-B $5,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Extremely Fine 40
Serial Number 3 Fr. 2221-B $5,000 1934 Federal Reserve Note. PMG Extremely Fine 40

Other top results from the Long Beach Expo Currency auction included, but were not limited to:

Complete results from the currency auction can be found at HA.com/3596.

About Heritage Auctions

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, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet’s most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 1,750,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of more than 6,000,000 past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit.

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E 1

A long list of “Knock Out” pieces there. All you Pre-33 gold guys should have much to appreciate with this article. Proof Deep Cameo Morgan – Wow!

E 1

A $324K Proof Morgan Dollar. The real deal. That thing blows the replicas out of the water.

Sam-I-am

E 1, all I can say is “spectacular”. Things like this are far, far beyond my means, so I will satisfy myself with seeing photos of such amazing examples of numismatic art.

Kaiser Wilhelm

Sam-I-am and E 1,

Those are all extraordinarily beautiful pieces, however, if everybody could easily and readily acquire one I doubt they would be nearly as big of a deal. There really is something to be said for scarcity and rarity, isn’t there?

Rick

It’s a stunner coin E1, you can really see the DCAM. They’re all stunning scarcities & rarities! I did a double-take on the $10,000 Note, wow! My one and only pre-33 coin that I recklessly bought ‘raw’ back in 2010 on an eBay whim(below). I won’t buy raw again unless I do it like DaveSWFL, or similar.. I put it away until this summer, woke it up to send it in. But before doing so I verified it’s authenticity by comparing it to the many photographic references out there. One source was a high quality pic(s) from PCGS to compare… Read more »

IMG_20240703_0251261322
East Coast Guru

Nice job Rick. Glad to see you got a good grade on that $5.00. By the way, I saw some of those currency notes pictured above up close, they are truly spectacular. Not just in condition, but in artistry. Beautiful artwork.

Kaiser Wilhelm

East Coast Guru,

Clearly there was a time when art and commerce fortuitously joined hands.

Rick

Thanks Guru,
Beautiful Notes indeed. I wasn’t aware of the number of Long Beach coin shows.. 4 a year? I need to get back to a show, great stuff to be seen and collected!

Kaiser Wilhelm

Rick,

I’m just too old and tired for that kind of gallivanting around. I hope you don’t mind being the “Rick Steves” of coin shows and reporting back to the rest of us all about your experiences there!

Rick

I’ll see what I can do, they are great to see such a wide variety of coins and notes in person.
Guru is our guy, he seems to frequent them quite a bit!

Kaiser Wilhelm

Rick, I’m sure it isn’t me alone who would appreciate your willingness (something which naturally no one will ever consider holding you to), if of course at all practically feasable, to be one of our “go to” guys when it comes to coin show attendance “for the rest of us”, so to speak. It also helps, of course, to know you are so well versed in numismatics; as such you would be able to highlight the best points of a convention in addition to sorting out the special from the mundane when it comes to what is being sold and/or… Read more »

E 1

Guys, Maybe I should sell everything and put the proceeds into just one rock star coin. Just a thought. Less space, simpler, and easier for sure. It might be kind of boring, owning just one coin when you’re a total coin addict like myself. From what I have read, it is usually several people that go in together on a top flite rare coin and their group or holding organization might own several. Just another dimension to consider in this amazing hobby. Peace Out Rick: Another great coin you got there Bud. $1,250 or more in MS-63. Pretty darn good… Read more »

Rick

You whim some, you lose some…
You won’t last E, keep your coins diversified, you’ll be happier!
Some of my best buys were whims.
Both of them below were a done deal whim buy(in OGP)with not even a day to think about it–just bought them then & there! One was from the Mint, the other eBay..You know the story……..

IMG_20240719_1042075882
Rick

Once in awhile the Mint puts out some quality coins, once in awhile they throw you a curveball. You just never know anymore what’s coming next!?!
Maybe soon they’ll throw us some bones, on the lower, or higher end? Both would be ideal…
We’re due for something great…..

E 1

Rick,

This was a Wednesday Whim….

Trashed holder, discounted price, incredible coin.

Don’t ask, you already know what I’m gonna do with it.

Yes, “You whim some, you lose some…” I like that.

Waiting for something good too.

All good Bud.

Later

1941_P_Walker_Obverse_-Copy
Kaiser Wilhelm

E 1 and Rick,

Beautiful Walking Liberty, E 1. Congrats on getting that one!

As for the Mint bringing us something we can both savor and sink our numismatic teeth into, quoting West Side Story, “Something’s coming, something good!” We can always hope.

E 1

Better yet…..

“You whim some, you win some.”

E1

Kaiser Wilhelm

Rick,

While it may be trueYou whim some, you lose some…”, you 100% hit it out of the park with those two pictured Gold Eagles!

Rick

Thanks Kaiser! Those two coins were the only ones I purchased in 2020 and I feel lucky and humbled to have them in my collection. ’20 was a good year for me, but strange too.
Just 3 weeks before the ‘lockdown’ myself and a couple of my guys went to the KISS concert while working in Minneapolis!?! Yeah! Lol…
2020 was indeed a strange year…
Some Bling below. No not coin Bling –Paul Stanley Bling lol !!..
Yes, we were that close….

IMG_20200224_222600657
Last edited 17 days ago by Rick
E 1

Rick, Crazy good pic! They are kinda strange though. But, they did have a couple of good songs.

Kaiser Wilhelm

E 1,

Just as a footnote, while Kiss did dress funny that may have been the full extent of their eccentricity. I’m left with the distinct impression that there were likely more than a few groups who on the outside appeared to be more normal but when you looked down deep tended to reveal a much kookier inner reality.

Rock-Bands-1990s
E 1

Kaiser,

Looks like arhat Kurt Cobain. Things didn’t end well for him. His wife is still around though. Nirvana overdone.

Kaiser Wilhelm

E 1,

Give that man the plush doggie from the top shelf; you got it!

Rick

Looks to be a young Dave Grohl on the right (Foo Fighters)as well. He fared better in life.

Kaiser Wilhelm

Rick,

I’m pretty sure I stopped paying attention to the names of groups after Guns ‘N Roses; not one since then is known to me.

Kaiser Wilhelm

E 1,

Being an old fashioned fart myself, I’ll take the “Old Masters” like the Stones even if they’re into their 80’s now. Which when you think about it is actually a magnificent achievement!

E 1

Kaiser,

Courtney Love Cobain……AKA Hole

Man, what was she doing with this guy?

Courtney_Love-Copy
E 1

Born in San Francisco. A Singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, writer, and actress. Athena in “The People vs Larry Flint.” Now 60 years old.

Courtney_Love_Rocker-Copy
Kaiser Wilhelm

E 1,

We may have similar tastes. I’ve had my eye on her for quite a while now, alas and alack (at least as yet) to no apparent avail.

Last edited 11 days ago by Kaiser Wilhelm
Kaiser Wilhelm

So now we have to decide, Rick, as to which was the bigger event for you in 2020. Getting to see Kiss up close and personal or being lucky enough to acquire those two sensational gold coins? Hmmm…that’s a real toss up.

Rick

Well, with one I may not have the other!? Sort of related in a way..
Make a few bucks in the Twin Cities,
Come home and unpack the Golden Goodies!

Kaiser Wilhelm

Rick,

As far as I’m concerned, my friend, you could have the Kiss concert, the two gold coins, and a night with the Pussycat Doll of your choice, which at my age would be just one bonus too many.

Kaiser Wilhelm

Rick, if you wish, take your pick, it’s on me.

pussycat-dolls-line-up-comeback-show-20191104161543149-data_0
Rick

It’s a toss up between number one and number four, how about both!?

Kaiser Wilhelm

E 1,

“From what I have read, it is usually several people that go in together on a top flite rare coin…”

I was considering this very idea, admittedly as an idle and playful thought after having perused the incredible array of stunning coins up above. The fantasy consisted of us all pooling our resources in order to be able to acquire one of this level of premier coins as a group. However, the disposition of the physical item would quite likely be in question so that might be a tiny bit of a sticking point. 😉

Last edited 18 days ago by Kaiser Wilhelm
Rick

We can just keep high end coin in Craig’s safe–if there’s any room that is!

Kaiser Wilhelm

Rick,

Great idea, but like you said and I agree, he certainly wouldn’t want any of his existing masterpieces to be displaced by this cumulatively-purchased-and-owned “interloper/newcomer”!

John Q. Coinage

From day one, when I worked in the Biz 2 words of advice buy the most expensive coin you could afford, I 5e best grade. Oh if I had $25k when a guy walking In trying to sell a gorgeous, like buttah, 1893-S Morgan. 1976…. Today $1,000,000+

Kaiser Wilhelm

Oh my, John Q. Coinage, that’s a really great story and it’s unfortunate it had to end with “the one that got away”. The moral of the tale is that a coulda/shoulda/woulda plus a few bucks will get you a fair to middlin’ cup of coffee. And so it goes.

Rick

Yer Killin me, wow JQC!
If only…..

Kaiser Wilhelm

Rick,

You do occasionally like to take chances, but heck, more power to you!

Rick

I do, and sometimes it’s a flop(whim some, lose a lot,!)…
Like this one below. They may look all fancy, but not a smart buy.. Quality issues along with overpriced coins spells trouble buddy….

IMG_20240904_2158110862
Kaiser Wilhelm

E 1 and Sam-I-am,

I would venture to say this is yet another persuasive argument for being a coin collector and as such able to best appreciate such masterpieces of numistmatic art.

DaveSWFL

Rick &E1,
Your purchases look to be a “whim-win” situation!

Rick

Yo E1,
The 1941 MS66 Walker is killer! Once you look past the bad holder, there it is plain as day.. Buy the coin, not the holder!
You’ve got me looking at the hand/thumb every time and that looks to be a winner winner…
It’s pretty lustrous as is, will you fine tune it with the Speed Dip treatment?
Great coin man, and it will be an asset to the Album once inside. I’m chomping to see it!

E 1

Rick,

You might see the Walker Album again soon but still incomplete. Lately, I’ve been playing ‘Wack-A-Mole” on both albums. Just trying to get them balanced out and well matched. What a sick puppy I am – yeah. Perfectionism is a terrible disorder.

Later Bud

Kaiser Wilhelm

E 1,

Sadly, perfectionism is a tunnel without a light at the end due to the likely impossibility of there even being such a thing. Which is not to say that it’s in any way a mistake to always set your sights as high as possible, my friend.

John Q. Coinage

Nice stuff, I just need a decent 21-p to finish a 2decade old WL Dansco set. I skipped my advice keeps getting tougher to find a (un) clean nice grade…

E 1

JQC,

That is a tough coin. Anything Walker from 1916 to 1929 in Gem is a challenge. A complete long set in gem is next to impossible these days – unless you are made of gold.

Enjoy that watermelon.

Cheers

Rick

Nothing ‘disorderly’ about perfectionism at all..
Keep it up!

John Q. Coinage

We can always dream. I think I’ll have $tellla and a Watermelon for breakfast…. Oh to be a richy