SOLD
42,000.00USD+ buyer's premium (8,400.00)
This item SOLD at 2021 Mar 15 @ 11:17UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
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Lot: 3030
Year: 1854
Denom: 25C
Title: Unique Defiant Eagle Type Rarity 7!
Description: 1854 Defiant eagle, BG-220, PCGS AU55. Rarity 7. Defiant eagle left on torse, date below; 25 CENTS in wreath.
With the Arms of California half and the round dollar with G.G. and eagle, this is one of the three most highly coveted Period One coins; extremely rare, there are 10 or fewer known. For Doering, “the king of fractional gold.” However, its distinctive design, late appearance, and heavy weight (it contains close to full value of native California gold) have caused its authenticity to be questioned. California gold scholar Mike Locke has expressed doubts because of its late appearance, high weight and purity, and extreme rarity.
Several features of this issue, though, point unmistakably to an 1850’s date. The die work appears to be that of the 1850’s. The denomination of 25 cents is found elsewhere only on the very earliest round quarters of 1853; later issues, and all Period Three pieces and “token” imitations, use the fraction 1/4 (in 1838 the denomination on U.S. quarters was changed from 25 C. to QUAR. DOL., and it has been a quarter dollar ever since). Finally, the slanting 5 of the date is found on many U.S. coins of the early 1850’s (only); it is said to be a peculiarity of Mint engraver James B. Longacre, 1844-1869. Later coins revert to an upright 5, as seen on fractional gold from 1859 on and all Period Three pieces. But the date on the Defiant Eagle 25 cents is very similar—except for size—to that on the 1854 Kellogg & Co. $20.
The Defiant Eagle type—unique among small California gold designs—was generally unknown to numismatics until two examples surfaced in Henry Chapman's auction of the Andrew C. Zabriskie Collection, June 3-4, 1909. However, another example was in the collection of Robert C.H. Brock of Philadelphia, who collected actively from the 1880s to the 1890s and who donated his collection to the University of Pennsylvania in 1898; it was purchased with the rest of his coins by B. Max Mehl in 1952 and sold at auction Nov. 30, 1954.
But how did Zabriskie get these Defiant Eagle coins in the first place? In 1873 or 1874, he purchased the California coin collection of U.S. Assayer of Gold Augustus Humbert from his California executors. Presumably he found a few of these coins in an envelope, unused, and began trading them to other collectors, retaining two for himself. (Zabriskie joined the American Numismatic Society in 1874.) Sadly, we may never know!
Faintest traces of wear, attractive light coppery toning with some original luster still remaining, a few light scratches on reverse, C of CENTS weak. PCGS AU55 Defiant Eagle William C. O'Connor (PCGS# 10405). PCGS POP 1 + 3.
Low Estimate: 10000
High Estimate: 25000
Grading Co: PCGS
Gr: AU
Gr2: 55
OGH:
PCGS#: 10405
NGC#:
Cert#: 40625005
Pedigree/Collection: Ex Dennis Steinmetz 1983, ex Jeff Garrett, Lexington, KY circa 1982-83, ex NERCA, 4/10/1981, lot 1498, $12,650, ex Ken Goldman, Boston, MA (joined PNG 1975), paid $1,750, ex unknown intermediaries, ex Andrew C. Zabriskie before 1909 (?), ex Augustus Humbert 1873 or 1874 (?), ex M. Jordan and Gottard Koehler partnership, San Francisco (dissolved 1854)(?) The William C. O'Connor Collection
Auction Location:
1550 Tiburon Blvd. Suite G201, Tiburon, California, 94920, United States
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Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
20% |
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www.kagins.com xv
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