George H. Smoots Collection Auction-1932-I Wish We Could Go Back In Time
1630Boston
Posts: 13,817 ✭✭✭✭✭
Here's a link to the auction catalog items and auction prices realized, if interested-https://archive.org/details/cataloggeorgehsm1932mehl/page/n1/mode/2up
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
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Comments
@1630Boston ... If ever time travel is invented, I do believe it will be by a coin collector.
Cheers, RickO
I'll take lot 318 for $45. please!
Even 100 times that.
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Can we pay with 2022 money or would we have to pay with 1932 money? Could be a problem.
Pay with a check. A check for $XX.XX is the same today as in 1932.
Wow! All I can think of. Prices are nothing compared to the coins themselves.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Just buy the amount needed in silver dollars. It would still probably be worth it.
Young Numismatist
I see that there was an 1876-CC Twenty Cents piece. I wonder if that became the Emory-Nichols specimen sold by Bowers in the early 1980's? Mr. Nichols was actively collecting during the Great Depression and might have been the buyer. He put all of his collections in Wayte Raymond holders, then died about 1940. His widow put everything in a steamer trunk and asked her bank to store it for her. It sat there for over 40 years, toning, until the widow died in the early 1980's.
The heirs, a niece and nephew, were told by the bank "We've been storing this trunk for her. Could you please come get it?" They knew nothing about the collection, but in looking through the paperwork in the trunk discovered that Mr. Nichols was a member of the ANA. They contacted headquarters asking for advice, after somebody told them that the 1804 dollar in the collection might be an unknown specimen. As the resident expert on 1804 dollars at ANACS I was flown there at their expense, but alas the 1804 was merely an excellent alteration. However, I did look through everything, and picked up this complete set of Twenty Cent pieces in the Wayte Raymond holder, saw the doubled die LIBERTY on the one in the 1876-CC space, and said "Oh My" before even looking at the mint mark.
I gave them some names of reputable auction houses, and said that Mr. Bowers would probably write a book about the collection. He did.
That is fantastic information @CaptHenway , thanks for sharing it.
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
@CaptHenway
Did all of the 1876 CC 20cents have doubled Liberty?
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
There aren't any listed varieties on CoinFacts, and all of the TrueViews I saw showed doubling. I didn't know that was a thing. Very cool!
Young Numismatist
I found this from CoinWeek by NGC
When the order was given in 1876 to halt production and destroy existing 20 cent pieces, the Carson City Mint still had nearly its entire mintage of 10,000 on hand. Today, only about two dozen of these coins are known to exist. Consequently, genuine 1876-CC specimens generally sell for six figures when offered at auction.
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Furthermore, all 1876-CC pieces were struck with a single pair of dies that produced a doubling on the observe that is clearly evident in the word LIBERTY in the shield. The counterfeit shows no sign of this doubling.
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The 1876-CC specimens are also generally found in excellent condition, likely because they were saved by people who understood their enormous numismatic value.
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Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Yes.
So if you were the lucky winning bidder on the 1797 Half Dollar at $45 in 1932 (arguably the peak of the Great Depression, so how many people had $45 sitting around for collecting coins?), and assuming that the description of "Unusually Choice" but circulated in the flyer equates to a grade of 55, given the PCGS prices in the $300K range, you are getting an annual return on your investment of about 10%. Not shabby over 90 years but not crazy high. And yes I realize that some large majority of the readers here want to have the 1797 Half in hand to hold and see, and not necessarily (though who would say no) the currently $300K investment vehicle.
Although looking at it another way, if you can trust this inflation calculator https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1932?amount=45 that $45 is roughly the equivalent of ~$1000 today. Makes it look like a bargain and supports Todd's "even 100 times that" comment above in one view.