The Landmark Lane Collection of Early U.S. Dollars is Hitting the Auction Block

A significant collection of early U.S. Dollars assembled by collector Eric Lane will cross the auction block in early February as part of the Heritage Auctions Long Beach Expo U.S. Coins Signature Auction. The Lane Collection is included in Session One, scheduled for the evening of February 8 in Dallas, Texas.

Building a significant collection of U.S. coins requires both wherewithal and time. Mr. Lane’s pedigree includes a father who was an avid numismatist himself. Eric traces his interest in numismatics to a Walking Liberty Half Dollar he found at age eight. As an adult, Eric assembled an exceptional Walking Liberty Half Dollar collection.

Building a collection is a process. That process comes to fruition once the collector feels “they’re done.” Lane understood part of building a collection is liquidating that collection at some point in time, especially if it involved building another significant collection. The collector has the freedom to choose what they like and how they want to collect it!

In addition to his success selling his Walking Liberty Half Dollar collection, Eric explains in the Heritage Auctions press release: “Someone told me in 2009 that early dollars and early eagles would be great investments, since virtually no new coins had been found in over 50 years in either one of these series. I set a goal of completing both sets with all major types in PCGS-graded coins only.”

The Lane Collection of Early U.S. Dollars is significant for the quality, inclusiveness, and an eye for value these coins represent. The collection includes 41 total lots. The quality of Lane’s dollars in terms of originality is top notch, but the inclusiveness also reveals immense patience in building this collection. Both warrant admiration, but as Lane has provided with the sale of his prior collections, other collectors get a shot at these great coins now.

Pictured on the catalog cover are two Lane Collection highlights, including both the first U.S. silver dollar from 1794 in a very appealing PCGS VF30 grade and an 1898 Large Eagle Bust Dollar in MS65 PCGS. Some of the other great coins in this collection offered for sale are a 1795 Flowing Hair 3 Leaves Dollar graded MS62, a 1798 Draped Bust Small Eagle Dollar graded PCGS MS61, and the 1800 Draped Bust Wide Date Dollar graded PCGS MS63.

Part of the purpose of highlighting great collections coming onto the market is to both honor the effort and commitment of the collector, but also to share the news with other collectors who are building their own collections. The sale of Lane Collection is the culmination of this chapter of his collecting legacy, but perhaps it’s just the beginning of another collector’s dream!