The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection - Part II

Landmark 1875 Business Strike $10

Lowest Mintage U.S. Gold Coin!

Only 100 Pieces Struck!

Enlarge Enlarge

1551     1875 EF-45 (PCGS). Considerable mint lustre remains on both obverse and reverse. Quite well struck with the exception of the first and second stars, which show little central detail. One of the very finest known specimens of this incredible rarity, an American numismatic landmark, the lowest business strike mintage United States gold coin.

Only 100 pieces were struck for circulation, far and away the lowest figure for any coin in the gold series. David Akers estimated that no more than five or six business strikes survive, "including two of horrendously low quality," plus about seven or eight Proofs. While the future is not known to us or anyone else, it certainly must be the situation that the opportunity to acquire a decent business strike 1875 $10 has been more unusual in recent years than the opportunity to purchase a 1787 Brasher doubloon or an 1804 silver dollar! Harry Bass considered this to be one of the great highlights in his cabinet of gold eagles, and without a doubt its proud next owner will feel likewise.

PCGS Population: 2; 3 finer (AU-53 finest).

From Stack’s sale of the Alto Collection, December 1970, Lot 356.

Important 1875-CC Eagle

High Condition Census


Enlarge Enlarge

1552     1875-CC Net AU-50; sharpness of EF-40 with several small dents on Liberty’s cheek. Light greenish yellow gold with very faint traces of orange toning. All things considered, the present piece is a very pleasing example of this issue.

Just 7,715 coins were produced. The Winter/Cutler reference estimates that just two pieces exist at the AU level! The importance of the present opportunity cannot be overstated.

PCGS Population: 3; 3 finer (AU-55 finest).

Centerpoint Proof 1876 $10

Centennial Year Rarity


Enlarge Enlarge

1553     1876 Proof-64 (PCGS). Light golden. Just 45 pieces were struck in the Proof format, and probably not all of these were sold. Breen estimates that only 14 to 18 pieces survive, and we have no reason to state otherwise. From this population can be deducted impaired pieces and those that are part of museum collections, probably bringing the number of decent specimens in private hands down to the range of eight to 10, if indeed that many.

Purchased from Robert Steinberg, August 17, 1972.

Seldom-Seen 1876-CC $10

A Key in the Series

Enlarge

1554     1876-CC EF-45 (PCGS). Highly attractive deep yellow gold with slightly reflective lustre. Only 4,696 examples were struck of the 1876-CC. Relatively few seem to have been exported, and most were probably melted. Today the population is very low. When seen, an 1876-CC is apt to be in lower grades. In fact, Walter Breen comments, "Extremely rare above VF."

Low-Mintage 1876-S Eagle

Condition Census

Enlarge

1555     1876-S AU-53 (PCGS). An important rarity, one of just 5,000 struck. Sharply struck bright yellow gold with considerable lustre and very minor surface marks. Walter Breen states: "Extremely rare above VF." Of course, the present piece is not even close to VF, but stands high as an AU specimen. Years ago, David Akers noted that he had never seen an AU coin. Today, with somewhat more liberal grading interpretations, and also with increased awareness and with coins coming out of the proverbial woodwork, our presently offered 1876-S has some company at the AU-53 level. However, it still stands as a condition rarity.

PCGS Population: 3; none finer.

From Rarcoa’s sale of February 1972, Lot 973.

Impressive 1877 Proof-64 $10

A Mere 20 Pieces Struck


Enlarge Enlarge

1556     1877 Proof-64 (PCGS). A delightful specimen with heavily frosted motifs and deep mirror fields that together form a superb cameo contrast. The light gold enhances the beauty of this specimen. The 1877 eagle is rare in both formats with a scant 797 pieces issued for circulation.

Of the estimated 10 to 12 Proofs remaining today, less than a handful can match the quality of the piece offered here. For the gold specialist and connoisseur here, indeed, is an incredible rarity, an incredible quality coin, an incredible opportunity.

PCGS Population: 2; none finer.

Purchased from Abner Kreisberg, May 7, 1969.

Rare 1877-CC Eagle

Enlarge

1557     1877-CC EF-40. Traces of mint lustre in the recesses. Both the obverse and reverse fields have been smoothed in an attempt to conceal a multitude of marks and abrasions. Quite sharply struck. Just 3,332 were struck with most survivors being much lower grade.

From Lester Merkin’s sale of March 1967, Lot 484.

1558     1877-S EF-45. Mellow gold, with reddish gold overtones. A nicely struck example with traces of mint lustre on the reverse in the deepest recesses. A scratch is noted on Liberty’s cheek and numerous contact marks appear on both obverse and reverse. An underrated date that Breen noted is "prohibitively rare above EF."

Purchased from Stanley Kesselman, April 28, 1967.

1559     1877-S EF-45. Mint lustre is seen in both the obverse and reverse recesses. A well-struck example with a pleasing overall appearance. Another example of this seldom-seen issue.

Purchased from Rowe & Brownlee, August 23, 1968.

1560     1877-S EF-40. Numerous abrasions are seen on both obverse and reverse which are consistent with the grade. Quite well struck with traces of lustre in the recesses. A third and final opportunity to purchase an example of this rarity from this sale.

From Abe Kosoff’s sale of the Shuford Collection, May 1968. Lot 2279.

Incredible Proof 1878 Eagle

Rare and Beautiful

Mintage: 20

Surviving: 8 to 10


Enlarge Enlarge

1561     1878 Proof-64 (PCGS). An attractive specimen with pleasing light golden toning. An incredible coin from every aspect. Only 20 were struck, of which it is estimated that only eight to 10 survive. Deducting institutionalized and damaged pieces, it may well be the case that only three, four, or five choice pieces exist in private hands. The present specimen ranks as one of the most important opportunities in this elite area, the run of Proofs in the Liberty Head series being more elusive than that of gold coins of other denominations.

PCGS Population: 2; none finer.

Purchased from Stack’s, June 1973.

Lustrous and Attractive 1878 Eagle

Condition Rarity

Enlarge

1562     1878 MS-64 (PCGS). A lustrous and very attractive specimen. This is sharply struck and has frosty yellow gold lustre. A condition rarity, a coin that when seen is usually well worn, occasionally AU, and very occasionally low Mint State. The present coin is a happy exception and is one of the finest we have ever handled.

PCGS Population: 4; 1 finer (MS-65).

From Lester Merkin’s sale of June 1970, Lot 452.

1563     1878 MS-60. A lustrous example with a pleasing overall appearance. Light bagmarks are noted on the obverse, less so on the reverse. Very scarce in this state of preservation.

Purchased from Julian Leidman, February 3, 1973.

1564     1878 AU-58. An attractive, fully lustrous specimen that is just a hair’s breadth from full Mint State.

Purchased from Douglas Weaver, September 26, 1973

Beautiful 1878-CC $10 Rarity

Condition Rarity


Enlarge Enlarge

1565     1878-CC AU-55 (PCGS). An impressive lovely deep gold example with considerable mint lustre showing through. A very pleasing overall appearance that will delight the advanced collector. The tiny mintage of just 3,244 pieces bespeaks its rarity. Breen indicates that this issue is "prohibitively rare above VF." A lovely coin that will delight its new owner. The 1878-CC $10 claims the second lowest mintage figure of any Carson City eagle. The Winter/Cutler reference estimates that only four or five pieces exist at the AU level. Just to think, the Harry W. Bass Collection brings to market two of these in the same sale! Once again, opportunity is the key word.

PCGS Population: 2; none finer.

Purchased from Heritage’s sale of October 16, 1995, Lot 6391.

Another Memorable 1878-CC Eagle


Enlarge Enlarge

1566     1878-CC AU-50 (PCGS). A rarity in any grade, this lovely coin has deep yellow gold surfaces.

PCGS Population: 9; 3 finer (AU-55 finest).

From Abe Kosoff’s sale of the Shuford Collection, April 1968, Lot 2308.

1567     1878-S EF-40. Traces of lustre remain. Another example, not at all easy to find at the EF level, and yet fairly inexpensive.

From Lester Merkin’s sale of April 1969, Lot 457.

1568     1878-S Net VF-30; sharpness of EF-45, processed to conceal marks and abrasions. A highly affordable eagle from the Bass Collection, a nice opportunity to add this impressive pedigree to a type set of gold coins.

1569     1878-S Net VF-20; sharpness of EF-45. The motto on reverse has been damaged by an attempt to remove a concentration of surface marks. Otherwise, a nice example for the grade. A significant amount of mint lustre remains.

1570     1879/8 Breen-6993. Overdate. MS-61. Fully lustrous and attractive. This is what Breen called the overdate. According to Breen, the lower curve of an 8 is seen within the curve of the 9. Indeed, there is a prominent curve in that location, and it may be from an 8. No other repunching is seen on the date.

This variety, which may simply be a repunching, rather than an overdate, is what Walter Breen called the 1879/8. There is a lower curve of an earlier punch seen within the curve of the 9. Breen notes the issue is "extremely rare."

Purchased from N.K.S., May 25, 1971.

Incredible, Impressive Proof 1879 $10

Estimated Population: 10 Coins


Enlarge Enlarge

1571     1879 Proof-64 (PCGS). Attractive light golden surfaces. Of the original mintage of 30 Proof pieces, perhaps 10 survive today, this being Walter Breen’s estimate. Of those, we can deduct institutionalized pieces as well as those that are damaged, perhaps yielding a population in private hands of five coins that could be called desirable for an advanced cabinet. The Bass specimen is one of these. A strong bid is suggested, with the buyer secure in the knowledge that he or she will have a coin with few other equivalents in all of the world.

PCGS Population: 4; none finer.

From Stack’s sale of October 1970, Lot 955.

1572     1879 MS-60. Fully lustrous and very attractive for the grade.

From Rowe & Brownlee, April 10, 1969.

Incredible Quality 1879-CC $10

A Carson City Landmark


Enlarge Enlarge

1573     1879-CC AU-55 (PCGS). A very attractive specimen with medium golden toning over lustrous surfaces. The strike is far better than average, particularly for this date and mint, usually seen weakly impressed.

The glory part of the present piece has not to do with its quality of strike and beautiful appearance—which, of course, provide essential aspects for the connoisseur, but its high quality and rarity. Only 1,762 pieces were struck, of which only a few dozen pieces survive today. Douglas Winter and Lawrence Cutler in their book on Carson City coinage stated that the 1879-CC $10 is unknown above EF-45, these authors not being aware of the Bass Collection (as coins in the Bass Collection were not generally available to scholars except upon special application).

The Carson City enthusiast—a member of a very significant and enthusiastic group—would do well to disregard any published price quotations or indications of value that might be at hand and to bid liberally and strongly. It may be many years until a comparable occasion occurs.

PCGS Population: 1; none finer.

From Stack’s sale of the Alto Collection, December 1970, Lot 362.

Condition Census 1879-O Rarity

First New Orleans Coin of Type

Mintage: 1,500 Pieces

Enlarge

1574     1879-O AU-55 (PCGS). Attractive bright yellow gold surfaces. Somewhat prooflike. A series of parallel roller marks are noted in the reverse field below the eagle, this being as made.

The 1879-O eagle combines several aspects of interest and desirability. The variety represents the first New Orleans $10 coin struck after the Civil War, and thus it is the first of its type, with the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. Second, the mintage amounted to just 1,500 specimens in an era in which no collectors were interested in saving mintmarked varieties. Third, the high grade ranks it as one of the finest we have ever seen or offered. Spirited bidding on this lot is the order of the day!

PCGS Population: 6; 1 finer (AU-58).

From Stack’s sale of the Delp Collection, November 1972, Lot 812.

1575     1879-S AU-58. A well-struck, lustrous example that is extremely attractive. Fairly elusive in this state of preservation. David Akers suggests that the typical piece on the market is apt to be VF. And yet, the issue is inexpensive.

Purchased from the Goliad Corporation, October 30, 1972.

1576     1879-S AU-55. Fully lustrous and very attractive. Difficult to locate this nice.

Purchased from N.K.S., May 25, 1971.

Incredible 1880 Proof $10 Rarity

Breen: "Probably Fewer Than 10 Survive"


Enlarge Enlarge

1577     1880 Proof-64 (PCGS). A light gold example with nice eye appeal. Of the 36 pieces struck in Proof, fewer than 10 can be accounted for today, per the research of Walter Breen.

In the 1880s very few numismatists collected Proof $10 coins, the number probably being not more than a dozen at most. In subsequent years, as collections containing these pieces were sold, market interest was lacking, and Proof gold coins of the 1870s and 1880s typically sold for very little over face value. Thus, it was just as easy for a collector to "spend" a high-denomination Proof as to go through the procedure of selling it on offer to a dealer or consigning it to an auction. Lest any present day reader doubt this, all you need to do is to check price lists of Proof $10 and $20 coins sold at auction up through the early 1920s—this being decades after the present 1880 coin was struck.

When collecting Proofs finally became popular in the 1930s, eagles of this era were found to be extreme rarities. As a result, some of the most impressive cabinets of gold coins ever formed did not contain Proof strikings.

The present coin is an extraordinary opportunity to acquire an extraordinary coin!

PCGS Population: 2; none finer.

From Stack’s sale of May 1974, Lot 495.

Attractive 1880-CC $10

High Quality

Enlarge

1578     1880-CC AU-58 (PCGS). Fully reflective surfaces, sharply struck in deep greenish yellow gold. Considerable lustre remains. Only a handful of 1880-CC eagles are finer than the present specimen. It is certainly a possibility that this present coin, graded AU-58 by PCGS, would merit the MS-60 designation elsewhere (as the publication title The Certified Coin Dealer Newsletter indicates, many PCGS coins grade for grade sell at higher prices than coins certified elsewhere, reflecting the relative conservative nature of PCGS evaluations. Call it as you wish—AU-58 as PCGS did, or some other grade, but by any evaluation here, indeed, is a lovely, desirable, and elusive coin.

PCGS Population: 2; 2 finer (MS-60 finest).

From Stack’s sale of the Miles Collection, October 1968, Lot 716.

1579     1880-CC AU-50. Considerable prooflike mint lustre showing through. From this date forward Carson City Mint eagles become somewhat more readily available in the higher grade ranges. Quite a few of these have come from overseas hoards where they were shipped beginning in the late 1870s (our estimate of time).

Purchased from Lester Merkin, January 24, 1968.

1580     1880-CC AU-50. A fairly well-struck example with a generous amount of mint lustre, particularly on the reverse. Another pleasing example, somewhat more affordable than the preceding two.

1581     1880-CC VF-35. No serious nicks or other major impairments. This is the quality usually seen for coins of this date, a typical piece which no doubt circulated in the American West.

Purchased from U.S. Coin, September 14, 1967.

1582     1880-CC Net VF-30; sharpness of EF-45, obverse burnished and numerous surfaces marks are noted. However, still a desirable specimen.

Purchased from Quality Sales Corporation’s auction of November 1972, Lot 1212.

1583     1880-CC VF-30. A final example of this popular Carson City date.

From Abe Kosoff’s sale of the Shuford Collection, May 1968, Lot 2310.

1584     1880-O EF-45. A pleasing example with considerable mint lustre. Several short scratches are noted in the left obverse field. Prohibitively rare in AU according to Breen.

Purchased from Paramount, May 8, 1967.

1585     1880-O EF-40. Numerous tiny dents and scratches are noted on the obverse. A rare coin and desirable as such.

From Parke-Bernet Galleries, no date given, Lot 176.

Amazing Proof 1881 $10

Fewer Than a Dozen Known


Enlarge Enlarge

1586     1881 Proof-64 (PCGS). Almost a full cameo, when viewed from the proper angle, attractive with light golden surfaces. Only 42 pieces were struck in the Proof format, of which probably fewer than 20 were sold, and of which fewer than a dozen can be accounted for today. As is true of all Proofs of this era, a number of these pieces are held in museum collections and others are impaired, yielding a very tiny population in public hands. Of those held by collectors, many are apt to remain in a given cabinet for many years, even decades, even longer (witness our recent sale of the Childs Collection in which certain gold coins remained in that cabinet for well over a century, completely unavailable to several generations of numismatists). The present coin, combining high grade, quality, and rarity represents an exceedingly important opportunity.

PCGS Population: 1; none finer.

From Stack’s sale of May 1974, Lot 497.

1587     Trio of 1881 eagles: I AU-58 (2) I AU-55. (Total: 3 pieces)

1588     1881 AU-55. Lustrous light yellow gold surfaces.

1589     1881-CC AU-55. A well-struck example with numerous light obverse marks and abrasions.

Purchased from Harmer-Rooke’s sale of October 1970, Lot 3250.

1590     1881-CC AU-55. A prooflike specimen that is very attractive. Difficult to locate this choice.

From Stack’s sale of the Miles Collection, October 1968, Lot 720.

1591     1881-O EF-45. A nice example of this issue. Today, the population is probably no more than 5% of the production quantity of 8,350 coins.

Purchased from Rowe & Brownlee, August 4, 1967.

Lovely Liberty Head Group

1592     Selection of Liberty Head eagles, each being of a different variety, and, interestingly, including specimens from each of the mints that struck eagles: Philadelphia, Carson City, Denver, New Orleans, and San Francisco. The examination and contemplation of this interesting group should bring great joy to its next owner. I 1881-S EF-45 I 1888-S EF-40 I 1891-CC EF-45 I 1892 AU-58 I 1893 AU-58 I 1893-CC VF-30 I 1894-O EF-45 I 1897 MS-60 I 1901-S MS-60 I 1902-S EF-45 I 1906-D AU-55 I 1907 MS-60. Mostly brilliant with nice lustre. (Total: 12 pieces)

Lovely Cameo Proof 1882 $10

Incredibly Rare


Enlarge Enlarge

1593     1882 Proof-64 (PCGS). A wonderful cameo Proof with bright yellow devices and deeply mirrored fields. Again, here is another prime rarity, a coin with very few equals in private hands. Of the original 44 pieces that were struck, it is doubtful that as many as 15 survive.

PCGS Population: 3; 1 finer (Proof-65).

Nice Liberty Head $10 Group

1594     Grouping of Liberty Head eagles, each a different date and mint, and including along the way at least one from each of the various mints that struck the denomination: I 1882 EF-45 I 1889-S AU-50 I 1891-CC EF-40, lightly brushed I 1892 AU-50 I 1893 AU-53 I 1893-S AU-58 I 1897 AU-58 I 1899-O AU-50 I 1901-S AU-58 I 1902-S AU-58 I 1905-S VF-35 I 1906-D EF-45 I 1906-S AU-58 I 1907 AU-58 I 1907-D AU-50. (Total: 15 pieces)

High-Grade 1882-CC $10

Enlarge

1595     1882-CC AU-58 (PCGS). Sharply struck with bright yellow gold lustre, frosty in appearance. Just 6,764 examples were struck. Today, most pieces on the market are in lower grades. In fact, Walter Breen notes that this issue is "prohibitively rare above EF." No doubt most if not all originally circulated stateside, with some later going overseas in bulk shipments—by which time the coins already had wear.

PCGS Population: 4; none finer.

Purchased from Douglas Weaver, August 30, 1973.

Another Nice 1882-CC $10

Enlarge

1596     1882-CC AU-55 (PCGS). Reflective light yellow gold lustre with sharp design details and very minor surface marks. Another opportunity to acquire a high-grade example of this rarity.

PCGS Population: 9; 4 finer (AU-58 finest).

High-Grade 1882-O $10

1597     1882-O AU-55. A well-struck and attractive example with somewhat prooflike surfaces. A small vertical scrape is seen before Liberty’s lips. Breen lists this date and mint as "Prohibitively rare in AU."

Purchased from N.K.S., September 5, 1967.

1598     1882-O AU-50. A lovely example with attractive prooflike surfaces. The obverse displays a few nicks and scratches which preclude a higher grade. Worthy of a substantial bid.

Purchased from Arizona Stamp & Coin, April 14, 1969.