Ultimate Rarities in the Top Collections

Zoins

The following is a list of unique to own coins mapped to top collections. It shows just how rare it is to have even one of these coins, much less two or more. This is built on a post I made in the 1822 HE thread with input from @Currin.

Unique to Own Coins Roster

"*" denotes the issue has additional specimens now not available to collectors. These show more collectors because more specimens were available to own in the past.

1. 1787 EB on Breast Brasher - Garrett, Parmelee
2. 1822 HE* - Brand, Carter, Dunham, Eliasberg, Lilly, Parmelee, Pogue
3. 1866 "No Motto" Dollar (Proof)* - Boyd, Brand, DuPont, Farouk, Green, Newcomer, Simpson
4. 1870-S Half Dime - Simpson
5. 1870-S Three Dollar - Bass, Green, Eliasberg, Newcomer
6. 1873-CC No Arrows Dime - Eliasberg, Newcomer
7. 1933 DE* - Eliasberg, Farouk, Stack
8. 1976 No-S Proof Ike - Mitchell Spivack (not included in the list below as it's very new compared the majority of collectors on the list)

Here's a breakdown by collector, not including the 1976 No-S Ike.

4 of 7 coins

1. Louis Edward Eliasberg, Sr. (4): 1822 HE, 1870-S $3, 1873-CC NA 10C, 1933 DE

3 of 7 coins

1. Waldo C. Newcomer (3): 1866 NM $1, 1870-S $3, 1873-CC 10C

2 of 7 coins

1. Virgil Michael Brand (2): 1822 HE, 1866 NM $1
2. Farouk bin Fuad (2): 1866 NM $1, 1933 DE
3. Colonel Edward Howland Robinson "Ned" Green (2): 1866 NM $1, 1870-S $3
4. Lorin Gilbert Parmelee (2): EB on Breast Brasher, 1822 HE
5. Bob Simson (2): 1870-S H10C, 1866 NM $1

1 of 7 coins

1. Harry Wesley Bass Jr. (1): 1870-S $3
2. Amon Carter Jr. (1): 1822 HE
3. Frederick Charles Cogswell Boyd (1) : 1866 NM $1
4. William Forrester Dunham (1): 1822 HE
5. Lammot and Willis Harrington DuPont (1): 1866 NM $1
6. Thomas Harrison and John Work Garrett (1): EB on Breast Brasher
7. Josiah Kirby "Joe" Lilly Jr. (1): 1822 HE
8. David Brent Pogue (1): 1822 HE
9. James A. Stack Sr. (1): 1933 DE

0 of 7 coins

1. Eric Pfeiffer Newman (0)
2. Raymond Henry and Emery May Holden Norweb (0)
3. John Jay Pittman (0)
4. Matthew Adams Stickney (0)

Now let's take a look at just the unique coins, not including the 1976 No-S Ike.

2 of 4 coins

1. Louis Edward Eliasberg, Sr. (2): 1870-S $3, 1873-CC NA 10C
2. Waldo C. Newcomer (2): 1870-S $3, 1873-CC 10C

1 of 4 coins

1. Harry Wesley Bass Jr. (1): 1870-S $3
2. Thomas Harrison and John Work Garrett (1): EB on Breast Brasher
3. Colonel Edward Howland Robinson "Ned" Green (1): 1870-S $3
4. Lorin Gilbert Parmelee (1): EB on Breast Brasher
5. Bob Simson (1): 1870-S H10C

0 of 4 coins

1. Virgil Michael Brand (0)
2. Amon Carter Jr. (0)
3. Frederick Charles Cogswell Boyd (0)
4. William Forrester Dunham (0)
5. Lammot and Willis Harrington DuPont (0)
6. Farouk bin Fuad (0):
7. Josiah Kirby "Joe" Lilly Jr. (0)
8. Eric Pfeiffer Newman (0)
9. Raymond Henry and Emery May Holden Norweb (0)
10. John Jay Pittman (0)
11. David Brent Pogue (0)
12. James A. Stack Sr. (0)
13. Matthew Adams Stickney (0)

Here are some images of these coins:

ricko

@Zoins.... Thanks for the interesting research and summary. Cheers, RickO

mcarney1173

Wow, I never thought I'd be on a list with Newman, Norweb, and Pittman.

Zoins

@mcarney1173 said:
Wow, I never thought I'd be on a list with Newman, Norweb, and Pittman.

It's amazing how much we have in common with the greats!

Zoins

BTW, it's understandable that many collectors didn't have the 1870-S half dime as it wasn't discovered until 1978, over a century after it was minted!

cccoins

Does the 1933 double eagle count as unique relative to Eliasberg? If I recall correctly, he had a non-Farouk example, and turned it in to the federal government, dropping the population from two to one.

tradedollarnut

Note that for many decades the 1822 $5 was not unique to own

Zoins

@tradedollarnut said:
Note that for many decades the 1822 $5 was not unique to own

Agreed and good to note. Other coins that weren't unique to own in the past include the 1866 NM Dollar and 1933 DE. This is why they have a * against them in the list of coins and there are two lists of collections: "x of 7" and "x of 4".

When mapping coins to collectors, it is important to note coins where more than one could be own in the past and new coins that were only discovered later. To do this more properly, we'd need to list the unique to own coins only during the collecting period for each collector. Once this is done, we can add coins like the 1976 No-S Proof Ike which was only struck after most of these collectors had passed away.

Zoins

@cccoins said:
Does the 1933 double eagle count as unique relative to Eliasberg? If I recall correctly, he had a non-Farouk example, and turned it in to the federal government, dropping the population from two to one.

The Eliasberg, Farouk and Stack specimens mentioned above are all different coins. From 1944 to 1952, the Secret Service obtained 9 coins from the public. With the Farouk coin and the Langbord 10, there are 20 known 1933 DEs to have left the government. One more was given to the Smithsonian. More on the Secret Service reclamation project is here:

As a result, an official investigation into the matter was launched by the Secret Service in March 1944. Prior to the investigation, a Texas dealer sold one of the coins to a foreign buyer, and it left the U.S. on February 29, 1944.

During the first year of the investigation, seven coins were seized or voluntarily turned in to the Secret Service and were subsequently destroyed at the Mint; an eighth coin was recovered the following year and met the same fate. In 1945, the investigation identified the alleged thief and his accomplice, Switt, who admitted to selling the nine (located) coins, but said he could not recall how he obtained them. The Justice Department tried to prosecute them, but the statute of limitations had passed. A ninth coin was recovered and destroyed in 1952.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933_double_eagle

While Eliasberg may have voluntarily turned his coin in, James Stack turned in his coin "under protest and under legal duress" over a year after he had been identified as the owner of a 1933 to the Secret Service by FCC Boyd. Here's an article on this with some legal correspondence from Kenneth Carroad who appears to be his attorney from a read of the letter.

https://coinweek.com/us-coins/behind-the-scenes-of-the-james-a-stack-1933-20-double-eagle-gold-coin/

cccoins

.

Zoins

@cccoins said:

@Zoins said:

@cccoins said:
Does the 1933 double eagle count as unique relative to Eliasberg? If I recall correctly, he had a non-Farouk example, and turned it in to the federal government, dropping the population from two to one.

The Eliasberg, Farouk and Stack specimens mentioned above are all different coins. From 1944 to 1952, the Secret Service obtained 9 coins from the public. With the Farouk coin and the Langbord 10, there are 20 known 1933 DEs to have left the government. One more was given to the Smithsonian. More on the Secret Service reclamation project is here:

As a result, an official investigation into the matter was launched by the Secret Service in March 1944. Prior to the investigation, a Texas dealer sold one of the coins to a foreign buyer, and it left the U.S. on February 29, 1944.

During the first year of the investigation, seven coins were seized or voluntarily turned in to the Secret Service and were subsequently destroyed at the Mint; an eighth coin was recovered the following year and met the same fate. In 1945, the investigation identified the alleged thief and his accomplice, Switt, who admitted to selling the nine (located) coins, but said he could not recall how he obtained them. The Justice Department tried to prosecute them, but the statute of limitations had passed. A ninth coin was recovered and destroyed in 1952.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933_double_eagle

While Eliasberg may have voluntarily turned his coin in, James Stack turned in his coin "under protest and under legal duress" over a year after he had been identified as the owner of a 1933 to the Secret Service by FCC Boyd. Here's an article on this with some legal correspondence from Kenneth Carroad who appears to be his attorney from a read of the letter.

https://coinweek.com/us-coins/behind-the-scenes-of-the-james-a-stack-1933-20-double-eagle-gold-coin/

All that’s good, and supports my point the the 1933 $20 wasn’t unique when Eliasberg owned it. As such, listing that Eliasberg owned it as a unique specimen is incorrect, and should be adjusted.

I agree and I mentioned it should be adjusted above in response to @tradedollarnut.

That being said, I'd rather do this for all coins and collectors at once and it's not straight-forward to do.

I'd want to map when these coins were unique to collecting dates for each collector. The 1933 DE isn't the only coin like this. The 1822 HE and 1866 NM Dollar were not unique to own in the past either.

A further complication is that I think the 1976 No-S Proof Ike Dollar should be added but it shouldn't count for collectors that passed away before it was minted. The No-S Ike should count for collectors like Pogue and Simpson on the list.

tradedollarnut

And...punch on breast really isn’t a unique coin...any more than punch 3mm closest to the rim is...

Zoins

@tradedollarnut said:
And...punch on breast really isn’t a unique coin...any more than punch 3mm closest to the rim is...

We've discussed this before, and you're free to disagree, but many people feel it is unique because the punch is on the same location on the wing for all other specimens. The punch is not in a random location like chop marks on a Trade Dollar. Also unlike chop marks on Trade Dollars, the punch is part of the coin as issued.

If it were to be removed from the list, I'd probably remove it for the reason that it's not a US Mint issued coin like the others, but it is a unique rarity to me and others.

Zoins

I'm also debating whether the 1870-S Half Dime should be mentioned for Eliasberg (and others). I'm thinking it shouldn't because it wasn't discovered until 2 years after he had passed away. If the coin wasn't known, the collector's chances of acquiring it are a lot smaller, though not impossible.

CalifornianKing

Wow. Nice list! Its such a shame that the goverment made these illegal. I would love to be able to own one of the "illegal" coins. Potentially outside of the US.

cameonut2011

I consider #8 to be an error or variety that is nowhere close to being in the same universe as the other coins.

RedCopper

The 1870 s half dime looks fake to me

tradedollarnut

@Zoins said:

@tradedollarnut said:
And...punch on breast really isn’t a unique coin...any more than punch 3mm closest to the rim is...

We've discussed this before, and you're free to disagree, but many people feel it is unique because the punch is on the same location on the wing for all other specimens. The punch is not in a random location like chop marks on a Trade Dollar. Also unlike chop marks on Trade Dollars, the punch is part of the coin as issued.

If it were to be removed from the list, I'd probably remove it for the reason that it's not a US Mint issued coin like the others, but it is a unique rarity to me and others.

Ok then the 1794$1 silver plug should be considered even more of a unique coin. Shrug

Crypto

I would consider the Ike to be a variety. It’s a finish away from being worth 1 dollar

Zoins

@cameonut2011 said:
I consider #8 to be an error or variety that is nowhere close to being in the same universe as the other coins.

@Crypto said:
I would consider the Ike to be a variety. It’s a finish away from being worth 1 dollar

Those are good points and worth considering. Other coins like the 1943-D bronze cent have also been mentioned.

It seems like the coins to be included are ones that can reasonably purport to be part of a standard issue via type and composition without getting into varieties. Given this, the following seem like good guidelines:

• officially issued type
• officially issued composition
• only rarities considered: date, mm, type
• customer ordered fantasy coins meeting the above may be okay, e.g. Judd-540 1866 NM dollar pattern

GoBust

I agree that the Ike dollar Judd-2164 is a pattern. Produced by the mint on purpose, not an error it appears. It's similar IMHO to coins like the pattern Buffalo Nickels and Walking halves. The fact that millions of Ikes were produced in 1976 in both proof and uncirculated format make it a very different beast. There are a great many unique patterns that were mint made of course, often struck as proofs. I do think the absent mint mark on a modern Ike and proof surfaces makes its a very, very cool and valuable coin, just not in the same zipcode as these earlier pieces discussed above. I do think its a coin that has truely captured the imagination of so-called modern coin collectors. I say so-called because I think 60 or 70 year old coins are not that modern anymore!

BryceM

None of them owned a 64-D Peace dollar either.

Zoins

@BryceM said:
None of them owned a 64-D Peace dollar either.

How do you know? If I have a few, can I get on the list?

Actually, I think the fantasy coins like these aren’t much different than the custom ordered fantasy coins like the 1866 NM dollar, except for who took and fulfilled the order.

1northcoin

Very informative and interesting. Thanks!