| Description |
1852 25C MS68 S NGC. The mintage of Seated quarters actually increased a tad from 1851 to 1852 -- 160,000 circulation strikes for the earlier issue and 177,060 pieces for the later. But, in any case, most wound up in melting pots. The abundant supplies of gold after 1849 served to devalue gold and make the melting of pre-1853 silver coinage increasingly profitable. It would take the reduction in silver content signaled by the 1853-54 Arrows coinage to again restore domestic silver coinage into circulation. Seated quarter expert Larry Briggs calls all of these issues, which are often underappreciated, "scarce in all grades and rare in Mint State." This MS68 S NGC-graded piece is numerically the finest by two grade points over the next-closest examples at that service. This is the first appearance of an MS68 S coin at auction, so it is impossible to speculate on the price that will be realized. The highest-graded examples of the 1852 that we know of traded at auction are a pair of MS66 PCGS pieces; one brought $12,640 in an August 2004 ANR auction (lot 343). A different coin in the same grade brought $20,900 in an August 1990 RARCOA auction (lot 650). The present Newman Collection coin will no doubt form the centerpiece of any Seated quarter, type, or other collection that it joins. The obverse is richly patinated in concentric rings of amber and blue, while the reverse shows some silver remaining in the center with a more-modest ring of color at the periphery. The strike is full throughout, and generous luster radiates from both sides. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.
Realized $105,750.00 . Description courtesy of Heritage Auctions, ha.com. |
