The David Queller Collection of U.S. Half Dollars

STEWARTBLAYNUMIS

TheDavid Quellar collection of half dollars 1794 - 1963 is set to be auctioned by Stack's on October 15 and 16th.All the coins are RAW.
It is becoming more and more scarce to see a major collection of US coins to be sold "in the raw"

Since the marketplace deals almost exclusively in "slabbed" coins,the numismatic experts have to grade each coin and bid accordingly.No doubt many grading mistakes will be made and many dealers and collectors will overbid on many lots

I wonder how many Forum members realize how difficult it is to buy raw material at auction.This is a very good opportunity to buy "fresh" material.If collectors ever wonder why fresh material is so expensive,they should wonder no more.

Higashiyama

Stack's seems to be the last major dealer to auction mainly raw coins. Although their auctions contain a fair number of slabbed coins these days, in some cases, if they feel that a premium quality coin is undergraded, they will crack it out and sell it raw.

With respect to the Queller Collection, I suspect that David Queller himself preferred the coins raw -- if you trace some of these coins back to earlier sales, they had previously been slabbed, and I am guessing it was David rather than Stack's who cracked them out. Especially for early coins, the slab gets in the way of appreciating the workmanship.

Nic

Would most forum members be afraid to bid? Speaking out of line but I can name many who are not. If you can view the coins in person, one should have no fear. If not....get more knowledge before you buy! For classics, it's the coin, not the holder. IMHO. K

dorkkarl

AFRAID to bid? you gotta be nuts! i'm a-going in with guns a-blazin, dudes, been saving up $$$ for months JUST for this sale. far as i'm concerned , its auctions like this that debunk the entire MYTH that only coins in plastic bring premium $. every stack's auction i've been to, there are plenty of uncert'd coins that hammer down at SIGNIFICANT premiums over generic greysheet or trends money. all you gotta do is take a quick glance at the mass silver they sold earlier in the year, the RAW coins BLEW AWAY anything that sells in plastic. i think it's because real collectors know that when you buy serious coins, money is not really an issue. i've said time and again, YOU CANNOT PAY TOO MUCH FOR PREMIER COINS. & plastic don't mean diddly, its the COIN that counts.

K S

dorkkarl

BTW, i'm not trying to offend anyone, of course "real colletors" can collect plastic to. but it has just been my experience that truly, without doubt, plastic DOES NOT MATTER to the "very serious" collectors that i know. didn't mean to offend anyone w/ my prev. post.

K S

HuliganRS

How good is this collection?

lazeroo

thanx for the post stewart!

there are many coins in this auction that I'm going to bid on.
I collect seated halves with a passion.

there is very little chance that I will win anything in this auction.the 55-s half alone will bring a record
price. don't forget! there's an 1878-s half in ms65 that might break all records for an half dollar at auction.

I'm thinking it might be wise just to pay the 20$ and get the catalog to keep track of these
coins in the future. anyone want to guess what the 1794 half in gem mint might bring ?

shylock

Stack's online images are still as raw as their coins, but they have many improved color plates in this sale in case any of you want to browse.