1793 1-Cent Coin Fetches 1.38 Million Dollars at Auction

[iwiw60]

NEWS



Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:30:08 -0500
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A once-cent copper coin from the earliest days of the U.S. Mint in 1793 has sold for a record $1.38 million at a Florida auction.

James Halperin of Texas-based Heritage Auctions told The Associated Press on Saturday that the sale was "the most a United States copper coin has ever sold for at auction." The coin was made at the Mint in Philadelphia in 1793, the first year that the U.S. made its own coins.

Heritage officials said in a news release that the name of the buyer was not revealed but that he was "a major collector." One of the coin's earliest owners was a well-known Baltimore banker, Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.

"Mr. Eliasberg was nicknamed, 'the king of coins' because before his death in 1976 he assembled a collection that consisted of at least one example of every coin ever made at the United States Mint, a feat never duplicated," Halperin said in the news release.

The final bid for the coin last week was one of the largest sales at the Florida United Numismatists coin show and annual convention, which runs through Sunday. Halperin said a five-dollar gold piece from 1829 also was sold.

Halperin said there remain a few hundred 1793 coins in different condition, but that the one auctioned off Wednesday night is rare because it wasn't in circulation.

Officials say it shows no wear on its lettering, its Lady Liberty face or the chain of linking rings on its back.

The news release said the coin is known as a "Chain Cent" because its chain of linking rings was supposed to represent the solidarity of the states. The design was changed to a wreath after some critics claimed it was symbolic of slavery.

Halperin said the auction had more than $64 million in transactions. The show runs through Sunday.

[suesjools]

I knew I should've been a coin collector!

Best wishes for many sales to all,

[suesjools]

There was a guy on Roadshow the other evening who brought in a Chinese vase from the 18th century, the appraiser told him it should fetch upwards of a million bucks at an auction - wish I could spot stuff like that at flea markets.

Best wishes for many sales to all,

[gbsbks2010]

I'm sure I've got one of those somewhere.....

[burgyeb]

NEWS



Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:30:08 -0500
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A once-cent copper coin from the earliest days of the U.S. Mint in 1793 has sold for a record $1.38 million at a Florida auction.

James Halperin of Texas-based Heritage Auctions told The Associated Press on Saturday that the sale was "the most a United States copper coin has ever sold for at auction." The coin was made at the Mint in Philadelphia in 1793, the first year that the U.S. made its own coins.

Heritage officials said in a news release that the name of the buyer was not revealed but that he was "a major collector." One of the coin's earliest owners was a well-known Baltimore banker, Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.

"Mr. Eliasberg was nicknamed, 'the king of coins' because before his death in 1976 he assembled a collection that consisted of at least one example of every coin ever made at the United States Mint, a feat never duplicated," Halperin said in the news release. .

How lovely.

I attended a Stacks auction in Philadelphia in October of 2010, where they were auctioning off certain selections from the Estate of Louis E Eliasberg, Jr. among other important Estate holdings. One of the publications featuring coins being offerred for sale included an article "Remembering Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr." Junior, one of his two sons was heir to papa's coins, along with his brother.

[burgyeb]

Could not help but believe his collection should have remained intact. At the Stack's auction, they were actually auctioning off all of what remained of his (or Junior's) extensive collection. This even included his files and records of purchases, correspondence with others about coins, etc. They even auctioned off his collections of gold nuggets (many were very large pieces).

Ironically, it was intact, when he was about. His two son's seemed to keep their father's holdings intact. Not quite sure when the dismantling of the collection started. But it ended on October 2, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[iwiw60]

I'm sure I've got one of those somewhere.....

You crack me up!