For Immediate Release
November 22, 2000
Excitement was in the air on Monday, November 20, when the first lot of the Harry W. Bass, Jr., Collection Part IV crossed the block. Conducted by Bowers and Merena Galleries, this was the final sale in a four-part suite, which featured the most comprehensive collection of American gold coins ever assembled.
Records are made to be broken, it has been said, and at the Bowers and Merena sale long-standing prices fell right and left-often leaving standard market guides far behind. "The combination was perfect," Dave Bowers commented. "A connoisseur's collection filled with high-quality rare pieces, an enthusiastic bidding audience, and an electric atmosphere contributed to a sale that will be long remembered." When the final hammer came down, $6,423,671.15 in gold rarities found new homes. Highlights listed here include the 15% buyers fee.
Gold dollars led the two-day sale in New York City. A delightful 1856-S Type II gold dollar, with doubled mintmark, MS-62, fetched a remarkable $12,650. The 1858-D, catalogued as MS-61 and one of the finest offered in our time, brought $12,075. All eyes were on the auctioneer when a spectacular 1858-S gold dollar, usually seen in grades of VF or EF, but here represented by a dazzling gem MS-65, came up for sale; when the dust had cleared the coin brought a fantastic $25,300.
The 1861-D gold dollar, struck under the auspices of the Confederate States of America and accompanied in the catalog with a nearly two-page historical and numismatic description, graded as AU-58, went to a new home for a resounding $21,850.
Quarter eagles ranged from early issues (a splendid 1796 No Stars in AU-55 grade went to a new home for $50,600) to later dates. Along the way were many coins of rarity and quality seldom seen, even by the most experienced numismatists. Highlights among Classic Head issues included an incredible MS-65 1836, the very finest certified, which amazed at $25,300; a lovely 1839-C from shattered obverse and reverse dies, described as AU-58, for $11,500; and an 1839-D, AU-58, for $14,950.
An 1841-C, AU-58, the finest obtained by Harry W. Bass, Jr., in over 30 years of connoisseurship, delighted the audience when it sold for $11,500. An 1843-C Large Date, Plain 4, MS-62-combining rarity plus high grade-soared to $12,075. An 1844-D, MS-62, among the finest known, brought a sturdy $11,500.
A lovely 1856-S, MS-63, sold for $12,650; followed not long after by an 1863-S, AU-58, for $12,650; and a remarkable 1864-S, MS-64, at $20,700. An 1872 MS-63 quarter eagle went to a happy bidder for $12,075. Specialists jumped at the opportunity to obtain an 1881 circulation strike quarter eagle-one of just 640 struck-in MS-62 grade. Although the 1881 is occasionally encountered in Proof format, Mint State coins are almost as rare as hen's teeth. This one brought a dazzling $12,650, commensurate with its status.
Three-dollar gold coins featured a combination of rare and high-quality specimens. An 1854-O in AU-58 grade-one of the finest known specimens of this, the only New Orleans coin of this denomination-was bid up in furious competition to $13,800. An 1873 Closed 3 in MS-64 grade, one of only a handful ever offered for sale anywhere, brought $34,500, thus defining its market value, which up to that time had been highly theoretical.
"By this time the sale was well into the evening," Dave Bowers remarked. "Floor bidding was intense, and often a dozen or more bidders would compete on a given lot. Although the sale took a bit more time than expected, no one minded-as everyone was excited. The enthusiasm had to be experienced to describe it properly."
The Bass IV sale was held in the same chandeliered, mirrored gallery that hosted sales I, II, and III, completing the tradition.
Half eagles included many early issues, Condition Census specimens, landmark rarities (such as 19th-century Proofs dating back to the 1830s), and other pieces. "The gallery of bidders was a 'Who's Who' in American Numismatics," reported Chris Karstedt, vice-president of Bowers and Merena. "We all had a sense of history and posterity-a dynamic combination of a superb catalogue and presentation with an audience who recognized that in many instances the opportunity to buy was more important than the price paid." In addition to those attending in person, bids came by telephone, Internet, and fax machines from all over the world.
Half eagle highlights include early issues-a sample being provided by a 1799 Breen-6437, AU-58, which went far beyond expectations and landed in the lap of a new owner for $14,950. An 1818 half eagle with the run-together STATESOF inscription on the reverse, MS-62, fetched $18,400.
A cameo 1836 Proof-63, one of only four specimens believed to exist, a great classic (classic is an adjective that can be used to describe most Bass coins), went through the roof at $48,300.
The 1839-D half eagle, when seen at all is apt to be VF or EF. The Bass coin, a lovely MS-61, excited everyone and was sold for $25,300. Dahlonega Mint collectors reveled in the opportunity to compete for an MS-62 1849-D, the finest that Harry Bass was able to obtain. When all was said and done the value stood at precisely $18,400, a remarkable sum. Another of many entries in the "rarest of the rare" sweepstakes was a stunning 1857 Proof-65, minted in an era before Proofs were generally available to numismatists. In an "I'd better buy it now, or I may never have another chance" scenario, it sold to a lucky bidder for $78,200.
Proofs remained in the limelight and sparkled for the next half hour or so of the sale. Highlights included 1859 Proof-63 at $40,250, 1860 Proof-65 $57,500, 1862 Proof-64 $39,100, 1865 Proof-66 $66,700, 1866 Proof-64 $39,100, 1868 Proof-64 $39,100, 1870 Proof-64 $57,500, and 1883 Proof-67 $50,600, this being just a sample from a long and remarkable list! "It may be many years before a comparable offering of Proof half eagles is presented at auction," noted John Pack, Bowers and Merena's auction director.
Eagles included seldom-seen early issues in high grade, superb circulation strike Liberty Head issues including multiple "Finest Known" specimens, and other delicacies.
A lovely and rare 1797 MS-61 fetched $20,700, a 1799 in the same grade brought $13,800, and an 1800 with the same numerical designation went to a new home for $23,000. An 1801, MS-62, realized $17,250 and the famous and very rare 1804, also MS-62, sold for-would you believe it?-$39,100.
Among Liberty Head eagles an 1845-O, MS-63, from the Eliasberg Collection sold by the same firm in 1982, brought $46,000. An 1846-O, sometimes called an overdate, MS-64 realized $48,300. An 1848-O in the almost unbelievable grade of MS-64 was bid all the way up to $36,800. Further down the list in the Bowers and Merena catalogue was an MS-62 1860-O, which brought $25,300. "Specialists know that New Orleans gold coins of this era are exceedingly rare in any Mint State category," Frank Van Valen, a Bowers and Merena staffer, noted. "Working with the Bass Collection was a true team effort, and we all enjoyed being a part of it. Although all of us had seen many rarities, the Bass coins continued to surprise and delight."
An 1861 eagle, catalogued as MS-66, a one-of-a-kind grade coin, had no established market value-as no others had been sold. Now we know what the market value is: $50,600. Not long thereafter an MS-63 1863 $10 fetched $52,900.
An 1866-S No Motto, AU-58, brought $21,850; an 1870-S MS-61 soared to $36,800; and an 1872-CC in AU-55 grade brought $34,500. Skipping down the listing, we see an 1873, AU-58, sold in competition to $21,850; an 1874-CC in MS-63 grade (try to find another!) was pursued by bidders to $66,700; and an 1875-CC and 1876-CC, both AU-55, brought $31,050 and $23,000 respectively.
An 1879-CC AU-55 brought $28,750 and a 1913-S MS-66 went to $71,300. For other prices the Bowers and Merena Galleries catalogue will stand as a reference, for almost every coin had a "story" along with it. According to a company spokesperson, a few catalogues are still available for purchase.
Double eagles, an especially popular series in today's numismatic market, engendered enthusiasm as the auctioneers (John Babalis, Chris Karstedt, and Dave Bowers) were often confronted with a veritable sea of raised bidder paddles! It was not at all unusual for a double eagle-or a coin in any other series-to bring two, three or even more times the auctioneer's opening call!
An 1850, the first year of issue, MS-62, sold for $13,800. This early date is rarely seen so fine, and neither the "treasure ship" S.S. Central America nor the S.S. Brother Jonathan had a comparable specimen. These two ships and the lore associated with them have done much to spur numismatic activity in recent years, a cataloguer of the sale noted.
An "1853/2," the so-called overdate, MS-61, brought $41,400. An 1860-O in the high grade (for the variety) AU-55 ran all the way up to $21,850. An 1874 in remarkable MS-64 grade went all the way up the price ladder to $39,100.
Among the dazzling rarities an 1881 Proof-65 attracted nearly two dozen competitors, only one of whose paddle was still in the air when the price of $82,800 was called. A rare 1882 circulation strike, AU-50, brought $19,550; an 1884-S, common enough in worn grades but a rarity at the MS-64 level offered, sold for a dazzling $19,550; and a rare 1886, AU-53, delighted its new owner at $17,825.
The elusive 1891, AU-58, brought $24,725; a gem MCMVII, MS-65, a bellwether "popular" rarity in any auction season, brought $57,500; an MS-64 of the same variety fetched $29,900; and an MS-63 brought $10,350.
The Bowers and Merena Galleries "Grand Format" catalogue, offering technical information as well as careful numismatic descriptions and die variety details, is bound to become a classic in American numismatic literature.
With a total realization of $38,106,790.50 the Bass Collection now ranks as the second most valuable collection of American coins ever to cross the auction block (the record, the $45 million Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr., Collection, was also catalogued by the Bowers and Merena team and was sold in a series of three events in 1982, 1996, and 1997).
While the Bowers and Merena Galleries sales of the Bass Collection are now history, the firm is busily at work creating a museum-style catalogue, or sylloge, describing the Bass coins sold as well as the several hundred retained as the "core collection" for exhibit by the Harry W. Bass, Jr., Research Foundation. Plans are being made for a grand gallery to be built as part of the American Numismatic Association Headquarters building in Colorado Springs.
"We are all excited with our continuing role in bringing numismatic information to the public," Christine Karstedt stated in an interview. "In this way the information that Harry Bass gathered over a period of 30-plus years, plus other discoveries since then, can be blended with historical information to create an archive and source file the equal of which has never been created."
For more information, without obligation, on consigning your coins, tokens, or paper money to a future Bowers and Merena auction, call John Pack, auction director, at 1-800-458-4646. We also invite you to contact us for information on being a bidder in our sales. If you prefer, feel free to reach us by mail, at Bowers and Merena Galleries, Box 1224, Wolfeboro, NH 03894, by fax at 1-603-569-5319, or by e-mail at [email protected].
Bowers and Merena has an impressive lineup of auction catalogues, magazines, and other publications in preparation for what will be one of the most important, most impressive auction seasons in the history of numismatics! Coming up on the calendar are fabulous auctions in Orlando in January, Baltimore in March, New York City in May-and more! Active buyers are invited to send $145 for a year's subscription to publications that cost the firm over $300 to produce and distribute.
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