Auction Highlights

Welcome to this edition of Auction Highlights, in which we give you the scoop on some of the most prominent coins and banknotes that recently sold at auction. This was one of the more challenging groups to choose, as there were so many significant items to write about. Not to mention, there was an all-time world-record price for the most expensive coin ever sold at auction!

1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, PCGS MS65

This first coin is extremely important in numismatics. It is none other than the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle. In 1933, there was an executive order "forbidding the hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States." The U.S. government also ordered all newly minted 1933 Saint Gaudens Double Eagles to be melted, with the exception of two coins to be donated to the Smithsonian Institution. From the 1930s through 1950s, several pieces surfaced, and most were confiscated and destroyed by the Secret Service. Then in 1996, an example that once belonged to King Farouk of Egypt turned up in the hands of British dealer Stephen Fenton. Secret Service agents confiscated the coin. After lengthy litigation, the U.S. government legalized the coin, making it the only 1933 Double Eagle that is legal to own. The coin was sold raw at auction in 2002 for $7.59 million, to be offered again in June 2021 by Sotheby’s, where it realized a world-record price of $18,872,250. The coin, the most expensive ever sold in a public auction, has been graded MS65 and encapsulated by PCGS.

1893-S Morgan Dollar, PCGS MS67

The Morgan Dollar series is one of the most popular in our hobby. It also tends to attract some of the most sophisticated coin collectors, many of whom are also willing to spend a lot of money to obtain the coins needed for their collection. This is especially true when it comes to key-date coins or examples in very high grades. This is exactly what took place when an example of the key date 1893-S Morgan Dollar, graded PCGS MS67, was recently offered at auction. This impressive coin has a population of just one, with none graded higher. It was sold by GreatCollections on August 29, 2021, where it fetched $2,086,875 – records show that this is quite possibly the highest price ever paid for a single Morgan Dollar!

$5 1861 Fr. 1a Demand Note Handwritten “for the” PCGS VF25

One of the rarest banknotes that sold at auction recently is a $5 1861 Fr. 1a Demand Note, with a handwritten phrase declaring “for the” on the note. The words “for the” were handwritten by Treasury clerks who were authorized to sign for the Treasury officials at the time. Soon after, it was realized that it would be much easier to stamp the “for the” wording on the actual printing plates. So, the handwritten “for the” $5 1861 Demand Notes were shortly lived. Today, they are extremely rare and desirable among collectors. When an example of this note comes up at auction, it commands a lot of interest, as it did in April 2021 when an example graded PCGS VF25 sold for $50,400 at a Heritage Auctions event.