1923-S PCGS MS67 Peace Dollar
Cuprinkor
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This post is for Peace Dollar enthusiasts who were around in the early 1990's. Anyone know where the only '23-S Peace Dollar to ever receive the MS67 grade from PCGS resides today. I remember seeing the coin back then in Seattle in Bill Spears' office. Spears placed the coin with a Seattle-area collector.
The coin has unbroken pastel toning with powder pink and blue-purple colors. It was absolutely mark free but did not have a full strike. I hope memory is correct on this. I was much younger and less seasoned then so I probably had unrealistic expectations for the MS67 grade then.
If I saw it today, perhaps I would really appreciate it more. I wonder what this coin would bring today in a major auction?
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I definitely wasn't around in the 1990s, but the sole ms67 resided in the Jack Lee collection. It was latter sold from that set.
To follow up, the coin has been in a couple PCGS registry sets. First, it was in Jack Lee's set which is obviously retired. It was then in W. Michael Gilly set that retired in 2000 with the cert 06567706 that does not work. Most recently it was in the California 1 set. The last award it received was in 2015 and I think it was retired in 2022 (could be wrong). The coin is currently under the cert 10006280. My guess is its still with the owner of that set as the coin and almost every other coin has not had an auction appearance, though it could have been in a private sale.
Thanks for sharing that info, Rodley06. I didn't know any of that.
Maybe someday it'll show up and be offered in a major auction and bring some surprising price.
I remember seeing the only graded MS67 1923-S in the late 80's perhaps at the office of a local dealer. I remember it having about the nicest color you could expect to see on a Peace dollar and it was in a rattler holder. I rememeber the dealer also mentioned he showed that coin to David Hall who commented the coin was a monster and the best 23-S he had ever seen.
Your hobby is supposed to be your therapy, not the reason you need it.
I never saw that 23-S, but it sounds fetching. I'd love to see a photo of that one. My favorite grade for Peace Dollars is MS67+. There aren't that many of those around. Here are a few from coinfacts. Those high grade Peace Dollars are gorgeous.
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Luxor, was the local dealer in Seattle?
I recall seeing that coin while viewing lots in the January 1988 Mid American FUN auction. It was the only time I saw it and this may have been its only auction appearance ever unless I missed it somewhere.
At the time it was the first and only PCGS MS-67 Peace Dollar (it still is the only 23-S 67) . There was no color photo of it nor a photo of the reverse. It is listed in the prices realized at $28,600 which I thought was a strong price for the time. Mid American also offered the second PCGS MS-67 Peace Dollar, a 1926-S, in their September 1988 auction which included a note that the 1923-S had been offered at the recent ANA convention (1988 ANA) for $70,000.
The PCGS price guide is now $115,000. CAC does not show any 23-S 67 has been beaned. Here is the cert verify for the number mentioned by @Ridley06 which also notes the guide price but no photo:
https://pcgs.com/cert/10006280
It was nice and certainly better than a 65. Like you @Cuprinkor , I also probably had unrealistic expectations for the MS67 grade back then. Even a well struck 1923-S just wasn't going to have the razor sharp strike of a Philly issue. I was not looking for the expensive stuff like that coin, but would always try to view them when possible.
The Mid American catalogs are now up on the Newman Numismatic Portal.
A link to the Jan 1988 catalog:
https://archive.org/details/1988funsale1988mida/page/109/mode/2up
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Clip of the lot description:
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Thanks for providing the info and links I can go to and learn more.
It'd be very interesting to view this coin today. Obviously it's locked away in a private Peace Dollar set.
The Highfill book (dated 1992) states that the lone 1923 S MS67 was owned by Steve Contursi, then William E Spears and then John W. Highfill (the books author).
The California collector (Lloyd Gabbert as shown in the set registry so I am not disclosing anything) had thousands (10K+) of Morgan and Peace dollars in the collection. There were multiple registry sets of Morgan and Peace dollars. When Lloyd passed away many of the Morgan and Peace dollars were sold and today it is not uncommon to see a slab with the California pedigree on it. Lloyd collected VAMs and a lot of them (slabbed and raw) and some in multiples. The main Morgan and Peace dollars sets were kept in the family for years and I did notice that some got a CAC approval later. Today I think (but can not confirm) that the main Morgan and Peace dollars are still in the family. The noted Peace dollar pcgs registry set with the 1923 S 67 was retired in 2015 according to the set registry.
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https://youtube.com/watch?v=D0FPxuQv2ns - Ruby Starr (from 'Go Jim Dandy') Maybe I'm Amazed
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When I was becoming familiar with Peace dollars, and the vagaries of high-end coins in the series, I was initially surprised at how little difference there was between coins in 66 holders and coins in 67 holders. As I learned more, I could see that the difference was indeed real (when graded correctly).
Still, even really nice 67 coins aren’t perfect. They almost all have some identifiable flaws, especially when you include strike. It’s easier if you just accept that no Peace dollars are truly well-struck, with the exception of a handful of proof coins. Even then it’s sometimes debatable.
If you think 67 coins are easy to find, try “making” one. I did it once -- a 1924 Philly coin previously in a 66+ holder. It CAC’d at PCGS 66+ but did not at 67. It had FROST! and gorgeous surfaces.
A 23-S in 67 is a rare bird indeed. I’d love to see it. I’ve seen several dozen 67 coins, mostly in common-dates. Owned a few. I’ve seen 2 or 3 1921 high-relief coins in 67 holders. They’re special.
When I built my set there were zero coins in 67+ holders, even many years after the advent of plus grading. I thought it odd, made a thread here about it, and by coincidence (?), they started popping up soon after.
No......the Chicago area
Your hobby is supposed to be your therapy, not the reason you need it.
Lloyd was a good friend of mine; some of my fondest coin memories are of the nights at his home with steaks, wine and coins. He had 10 complete Morgan and Peace dollar sets, which he always told me were for his grandchildren and other members of the family, plus thousands of duplicate coins. I have no knowledge about whether any of the complete sets have left the family or been broken up, but I have yet to see any of the marquee VAMs in his #1 Morgan set come up for public auction. My strong belief is the many "California" pedigree coins that come up for sale are his duplicate extras.
TTT