1800 $1 BB-192, AMERICAI MS(PCGS#40082)

Spring 2019 Baltimore U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1084

等级

MS63

价格

402,184

详细说明

The Outstanding Pittman-Pogue 1800 BB-192 Silver Dollar Popular AMERICAI Variety 1800 Draped Bust Silver Dollar. BB-192, B-19a. Rarity-2. AMERICAI. MS-63 (PCGS). High in the Condition Census for the desirable BB-192 AMERICAI variety, this is a beautiful Draped Bust dollar that would serve as a highlight in even the finest numismatic cabinet. Frosty light golden toning and abundant cartwheel luster embrace both sides, framed with deeper tones of navy blue inside the borders. The obverse devices are particularly bold, somewhat covering for the modest softness on the eagle's breast, lower wings and several of the stars in the reverse field. Some minor hairlines are noted on the obverse, intermingled with light slide marks across the portrait, though the only contact point of individual consequence is the small nick on Liberty's nose, valuable for provenance purposes. A scattering of smaller marks on Liberty's bust, and some tiny toning spots above the forehead, are only visible under magnified scrutiny. The obverse exhibits a die crack above stars 5 through 7 and the letters LIBE in LIBERTY. Star 13 is joined to the bust by a very short crack, and star 11 is similarly connected to the border. Traces of a die clash, an impression from the reverse clouds, are seen above the date. Abundant die spalling and rough die surface texture intermingle with the talons and tail on the reverse. The die crack above the letter U in UNITED that becomes visible in Die State IV is barely a whisper here, leaving this as BB Die State III. A die injury following the word AMERICA in the reverse legend has made this variety instantly recognizable to specialists and non-specialists alike as the AMERICAI variety. This die marriage was described in the Haseltine Type-Table, written by J. Colvin Randall and published by John Haseltine in 1881, but the unusual die flaw after AMERICA wasn't even mentioned. Randall knew this reverse was used twice, on his No. 11 and No. 19, paralleling Bolender-11 and Bolender-19, as they'd be known to most numismatists in the late 20th century, but he was not the person who coined its name. Of the half dozen appearances of the word "AMERICAI" among the publications placed online at the Newman Numismatic Portal that precede 1900, all but one come from the catalogs of Charles Steigerwalt. The earliest traceable appearance comes from Steigerwalt's February 1895 sale, where lot 601 was cataloged as "1800. The variety with curious break after 'America' making it, AMERICAI." In the early 20th century, the AMERICAI identifier became commonplace, used by Thomas L. Elder, B. Max Mehl, and others. Today, it has become ubiquitous, enshrined in the Guide Book of United States Coinsand every other reference imaginable. This example spent a half century in the collection of John Jay Pittman, who purchased it from Abe Kosoff's 1949 ANA sale for $28. It had been consigned alongside many other choice early dollars by Adolph Friedman, a neighbor of Abe Kosoff's in Mount Vernon, New York, and a long time collector of high grade coins. In his introduction to the Friedman coins, Kosoff noted "many of the early dollars were purchased during the sale of the WORLD'S GREATEST COLLECTION," Kosoff's 1945 auction of the F.C.C. Boyd collection. The Boyd example of this variety was unplated, but was described similarly to Friedman's and sold for $45, the same price Friedman was reported in the 1949 ANA sale to have paid for this coin. Though photographic evidence doesn't exist to prove it, this is likely the Boyd coin, sold as lot 97 in Kosoff's January 1945 sale. With its luster and strong visual appeal, this coin ranks high among survivors of this famous variety. The other variety to use this reverse, 1800 BB-191, is significantly scarcer, and only one Mint State example is known. The finest example of either AMERICAI die marriage may be the Col. E.H.R. Green-Eric Newman coin, graded MS-65 by NGC but unseen by PCGS. Another contender does not appear to have been certified in recent years: lot 1264 in Paramount's session of Auction '85 was called "a magnificent coin" by David W. Akers when he recalled it in the 1998 Pittman catalog. Among all 1800 AMERICAI dollars seen by PCGS, this coin is the second finest certified after an MS-64 in the Dime Box Silver Collection. Provenance: Ex Adolph Friedman; Numismatic Gallery's (Abe Kosoff and Abner Kriesberg) American Numismatic Association Sale of August 1949, lot 198; John Jay Pittman; David W. Akers sale of the John Jay Pittman Collection, Part II, May 1998, lot 1669; our sale of the D. Brent Pogue Collection, Part V, March 2017, lot 5036. PCGS Population: 1; 1 finer (MS-64). PCGS# 40082. Click here for certification details from PCGS.