| Description |
1840-O 25C No Drapery MS67 S NGC. CAC. Briggs 1-A. Ex: "Col." E.H.R. Green. This Christian Gobrecht No Drapery design was only struck on quarters during three years, from 1838-1840, and it is a tremendously popular Guide Book variety today. A substantial mintage of 382,200 No Drapery quarters, including the present coin, was struck at the New Orleans Mint before the design was modified to include an extra fold of drapery under Liberty's right (facing) elbow. It should be noted that this example is not part of the 1982 New Orleans hoard; those coins all display dull matte-like surfaces from being buried for 140 years. In our opinion, the lustrous Newman coin is the most vibrant looking 1840-O 25C in existence. Most of the mintage circulated heavily in the 19th century, when collector interest in mintmarked issues was practically nil. As a result, the issue is seldom encountered in high grade and Larry Briggs rates it as High R.5 in Mint State. This coin represents the Briggs 1-A variety, with a recut 8 in the date and the mintmark placed over the space between A and R in QUARTER. Seated Liberty quarter die varieties were studied at an early date, and John W. Haseltine noted this particular variety when he cataloged an example for lot 1360 in his Type Table (Haseltine, 11/1881): {blockquote}"1840; No. 1; New Orleans Mint; without drapery from elbow to knee; mint mark O is over the A in 'Quar.' and slants toward the space between A and R; barely circulated."{/blockquote} J.N.T. Levick recorded a bid of $.62 for this lot in his annotated copy of the catalog, but we are not certain if that was the hammer price or just his bid. Recent sales of the 1840-O No Drapery quarter include the spectacular MS65 PCGS coin in lot 4206 of the Central States Signature (Heritage, 4/2013), which realized $27,025. Of course, the present MS67 S coin has no comparable precedent in recent auction appearances, as MS65 is the highest grade of any example in our Auction Archives. The coin offered here is a magnificent Superb Gem with sharp definition throughout, even in the usual trouble spots like the head and upper stars. The finest for this issue. The impeccably preserved surfaces are graced by natural shades of champagne-gold, burnt-orange, cerulean-blue, and lavender-gray toning that attest to the coin's originality. Vibrant mint luster adds to the incredible eye appeal. This spectacular MS67 S coin represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Registry Set collectors, as neither grading service has certified any other specimen finer than MS65 (9/13). Ex: "Colonel" E.H.R. Green; Green Estate; Partnership of Eric P. Newman / B.G. Johnson d.b.a. St. Louis Stamp & Coin Co.; Eric P. Newman; Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.
Realized $329,000.00 . Description courtesy of Heritage Auctions, ha.com. |
