Rare Coin News
Numismatic Price Records Shattered
History was made in the first week of November when a number of price records were shattered. The first of many was the sale of the King of Siam Proof Set, selling for an amazing $8.5 million. This legendary set is made up of 11 coins, which are: An 1833 gold Andrew Jackson medal PR63; 1834 Half Cent PR66RD; 1834 Coronet Cent PR66RD; 1834 Capped Bust Half-Dime PR66; 1834 Capped Bust Dime PR67; 1834 Capped Bust Quarter PR65; 1834 Capped Bust Half PR65; 1804 Draped Bust $1.00 Class I PR67; a 1834 Classic Head $5 PR65CA; and a 1804 Capped Bust $10 PR64CA.
The 1804 Class I Draped Bust is the finest known of eight examples which have been traced, and is certainly the most valuable of the 11 coins. A similar 1804 dollar set an auction price record in 1999 when it sold for $4.15 million. That record was shattered when the King Farouk specimen of the 1933 $20 Saint-Gaudens sold in 2002 for an amazing $7.59 million at a special auction…which was then eclipsed by the “Eureka Bar,” the largest of the monetary ingots recovered from the 1857 shipwreck of the SS Central America, which sold in early 2002 for $8,000,000.
The previous owner of the King of Siam set paid $4 million a few years ago and had been negotiating with the buyer for a few months. Being a client of mine, I spoke with the seller after the record sale and he is very pleased with the results and was happy to be a temporary custodian of the famous set.
The second record to be shattered was the finest of what are probably 20 to 24 specimens of the 1907 Ultra High Relief $20 Saint-Gaudens graded PR69. These beautiful works of art have long since been a collector’s favorite and when you examine one in person it easy to understand why. This near-perfect specimen sold for an impressive $2,990,000, considerably higher than the previous $1.15 million brought in 2003, and when the hammer came down, the room erupted in a round of applause.
But this was only the first time in a long evening of falling records that the applause would erupt. The coins that would join the “Hall of Fame” this evening are listed below:
| Date | Description | Grade | Realized |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927-D | $20 Saint-Gaudens | MS67 | $1,897,500 |
| 1921 | $20 Saint-Gaudens | MS66 | $1,092,500 |
| 1907 | $20 Saint-Gaudens | PR68 | $920,000 |
| 1921 | $20 Saint-Gaudens | MS65 | $805,000 |
| 1884 | Trade $1 | PR65 | $603,750 |
| 1907 | $20 High Relief | MS69 | $575,000 |
| 1907 | $20 High Relief | PR69 | $534,750 |
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