2018-02-21 Wed

The Alexander Collection of U.S. Coins was offered by Stack’s Bowers Galleries at Whitman Baltimore Expo auctions in November 2017. The collection is built by an unnamed collector starting 1920s by buying several interesting coins from leading dealers in the 1930s. He loved collecting Proof gold coins and the collection was untouched for 50 years. It contains 12 Proof Coronet $2.50 gold quarter eagles, most of which are in lower grades.

A 1898 Coronet gold $2.50 quarter eagle, graded Proof 61 Cameo was sold for $2,880. It was the cheapest among the 12 Proof Coronet gold coins. It did not have problems such as cleaning, tooling or spot removal. It had some marks in the fields. Experts believe that 100 survive out of a total mintage limit of 165 pieces.

The offered coin did not have any single cluster of intentional marks. The marks suggest that the coin was in circulation for some time. The devices don’t have any wear either.

Image courtesy Stack’s Bowers Galleries