| Description |
1873 25C Arrows PR68 Cameo NGC. Although the 1873 No Arrows quarters struck for circulation saw a much smaller mintage than their With Arrows counterparts, the proofs of the two types had similar mintages. The underrated 1873 No Arrows circulation strikes saw 40,600 pieces struck plus 600 proofs, while the 1873 With Arrows coinage was (a predictably larger) 172,000 business strikes plus 540 proofs. However, the popularity of "type collecting" must not be underemphasized here. Many 18th and 19th century coin series -- and the Seated Liberty quarters are certainly among them -- are sufficiently difficult to complete that numerous collectors opt only to obtain one example of each major type, having neither the funds nor the availability of coins to complete an entire series in any recognizable degree of quality. The type collecting phenomenon makes an enormous distinction between two proof issues that otherwise have much in common and little to distinguish: The 1873 No Arrows proofs come at the end of a near-two-decades-long span of such issues, while the 1873 Arrows proofs inaugurate the two-year With Arrows coins, jacking up demand many times over the No Arrows coinage. (Even then, it must be said that the earlier proof quarter issues of the No Arrows type are quite rare in extremely high grades such as found in the Newman Collection.) This 1873 Arrows quarter, certified PR68 Cameo NGC from the Newman Collection, is certainly among the few finest in the marketplace, as well as one of the finest Heritage has ever handled. A beautifully toned PR68 Cameo NGC example brought $48,875 in our Summer FUN Signature (Heritage, 6/2008), lot 852; the same coin reappeared in our recent Chicago Central States Signature in the Greensboro Collection, Part II (Heritage, 4/2013), lot 4233, where it brought $49,938. As special as that coin is, we believe the Newman Collection coin -- with its original toning and loving preservation -- is every bit as nice or nicer. The proof impression is simply impeccable, the toning as deep and even and lovely as could be. A marvelous coin, and a prize even among the Newman Collection coins. Census: 2 in 68 Cameo, 0 finer (10/13). Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.
Realized $52,875.00 . Description courtesy of Heritage Auctions, ha.com. |
