• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Interesting Tidbits - Item One

Started by Tradedollarnut,

16 posts in this topic

Tradedollarnut

Tradedollarnut

Posted
Posted

For those of you who've missed my website (or don't like to dig too deep), I'm going to post some interesting items.

 

Item one (copied from Bowers' Trade Dollar Encyclopedia)

 

Marc Emory’s Special Coin

 

Professional numismatist Marc Emory related the following concerning an especially nice 1875 trade dollar:

 

"As far as trade dollars go, there is a rather famous one I have handled (you did, too at one time), whose pedigree sounds like an old coin dealer’s tall tale: In early February 1975, I was still living in Philadelphia after graduating from college the year before. Early one morning, Bob Riethe, who had a coin shop out in Plymouth Meeting Mall, called me up to crow about the finest trade dollar he had ever seen. He said he had just bought it from Alan Woglom in Chalfont, Pennsylvania for $600—no small sum at the time. He also said it was an 1875 Philadelphia Mint coin. I said to cut out the nonsense, and to tell me what it was he really wanted to talk to me about. He swore it was no joke, so I drove out there swearing plagues upon his house if this was an early April Fool. Furthermore, he owed me $1,240 at the time.

 

"I arrived at his shop, wading through the snow and slush of the parking lot, and came to his counter in a mood which can politely be described as less than jovial. To boot, he kept me waiting for ten minutes to explain to someone why common silver dollars were common, and that he couldn’t pay $20 for 1922 Peace dollars in VF grade. Finally, he pulled out the coin in question. All was forgiven—provided he realized I wasn’t going to leave his shop without the coin. The 1875 trade dollar he showed me was (and remains today) one of the most exquisite U.S. silver coins I have ever seen. I finally badgered him into letting me have it in lieu of all the money he owed me. I sold it (I wasn’t too flush those days), to my great regret, to Maurice Rosen for $1,900. Maurice worked for First Coinvestors at that time. Maurice left FCI soon after that, and the coin soon appeared in one of their Pine Tree auctions. It was bought by Numismatic Associates of Ashland, Mass. for $3000+ and sold to A.H. Lamborn. His collection was sold (here’s where you come in) as the "Fairfield Collection" by your firm in 1977. The coin brought in excess of $7,000 this time.

 

"I lost track of it after that, as I was spending most of my time overseas by now. I did see it appear later in an ad by Jack Hertzberg, enclosed in a PCGS holder and graded a conservative MS-68. Where it is now, I don’t know, but someone should be happy with it. To this day it remains one of the two favorite silver coins I ever owned (the other was an 1855-S half dollar that went into James Pryor’s collection)."

 

You can view this coin here: 1875 Trade Dollar

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hoot

Hoot

Posted
Posted

TDN already promised me that coinn for my type set. wink.gif

 

A great coin TDN - and yes, i've read that story somewhere so it must have been on your site. Thanks for sharing it again.

 

Hoot

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SeanJ

SeanJ

Posted
Posted

[[ Where it is now, I don’t know, but someone should be happy with it.]]

 

 

I know where it is grin.gif

 

Interesting info TDN. Its amazing to me how a coin can go from being bought for $600 in the 70's to probally 60K+ in a matter of 40 years. (the 60k is a guess)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Coinosaurus

Coinosaurus

Posted
Posted

TDN - great story!!

 

The Fairfield collection was sold in October '77 & has lotsa other cool coins too, including an 1870-CC $1 which Bowers speculated was a presentation piece. This catalog is highly recommended for early dollar collectors - that's a hint, EVP smile.gif

 

Bowers called the 1875 trade dollar "gem unc" but also says it is probably the finest known for the date.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SeanJ

SeanJ

Posted
Posted
shocked.gif I just took a look at that link you provided TDN. My figures were WAY off. One hell of a coin tho. BTW, can you trace the pedigree of all your tade $ to the org owners?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tradedollarnut

Tradedollarnut

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I find it interesting that the coin surfaced in 1975 - 100 years from the year of mintage. The surfaces are hardly toned, yet 100% original. This tells me that it was locked away in a time capsule, or something similar, and protected from the environment for all that time. I'd love to talk to the discoveror and find out the rest of the story!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
shirohniichan

shirohniichan

Posted
Posted

Oh, it's the common type 2 reverse. Big deal!

 

JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!! grin.gif

 

Wow-- what a coin!!! I love the look, too. Undipped specimens like that are rare. Add the scarce date and high grade and you have a one-of-a-kind coin. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dragon

dragon

Posted
Posted

If I could have the ultimate Trade, Morgan, Peace dollar mini type set, I'd want that coin, the W. Miller 1878-S in MS68PL (I think it's a 69PL), and that gorgeous toned 1923-S in PCGS MS67 (the best 23-S and a wondercoin).

 

Dragon

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Go to topic listing