(big) Images of 1915-S $50 Octagonal Pan Pac PCGS MS 65

ANACONDA

Surprisingly, PCGS has only graded 13 of these in 65 with none higher. It's the kind of coin that even non-numismatists think is cool. Has great heft. "Hey, is that thing gold plated or solid gold?"..."Get outa here!"

adrian

LucyBop

BREATH TAKING! GASP!

littlewicher

I've always loved the design of this coin. Your coin is absolutely beautiful and breathtaking! I see that it was slabbed pretty recently. (the barcode on the front) Was this coin just reslabbed, or was it new material that was just graded by PCGS.

ANACONDA

I don't know!

nwcs

So cool. I can't believe you could have gotten them originally for just over $50. Or the whole set (round and octagonal) with the silver coins for about $20 over face. I wish we'd do something like that again. Although obviously the mixture would be different or be bimetallic as it'd cost way too much $$$$

jeffnpcb

A local dealer sold an Octagonal and Round to a premier national dealer several years ago. What was trully incredible was the owner had the original leather pouch that the coins came in when issued!!!
He had the reciept where he paid $33,000 for the coins and pouch back in the early '50s!!
Definitely a sight I will never forget!!!!

ANACONDA

Here's a little history...

Referred to by some as "the Beluga Caviar" of US Coinage, the Fifty-Dollar Octagonal Pan-Pac was issued in conjunction with the Panama-Pacific International Exposition held in 1915 which commemorated the opening of the Panama Canal which had occurred in the previous year. Two types of Fifty-Dollar Pan Pac Gold Pieces were issued, the Octagonal as seen below, and the Round, identical in design but for the ring of dolphins which bilaterally encircle the periphery of the Octagonal and which are symbolic of the continuous water route made possible by the Panama Canal. Athena, with her helmet pushed back on her head to signal peaceful intentions, is the central device on the obverse. She is placed there as a symbol of wisdom, agriculture and horticulture. She taught her followers to grow and use olives, historically useful as food and as fuel for lamps. Olives, of course, are a significant part of the California's agricultural economy, hence her utilization on the coin. On her shield appears, in Roman numerals, the year of issue, which was only the second time the US Mint had issued a coin with Roman numerals. Athena's owl, also a symbol of wisdom, appears on the reverse perched on a Ponderosa Pine branch. Interestingly, the issue of the Pan-Pac Octagonal and Round pieces harkens back to the Moffat-Humbert Assay Octagonal and Round $50 pieces that were also part of California's coinage history some six decades earlier. The original purchase price for either of the $50 commemorative slugs, as they're commonly called, was $100, nearly a month's wages for the average person. This significant cost resulted in the eventual purchase of only 1,128 of the 3,000 coins authorized. The unsold coins were melted. The Octagonal design was the more popular of the two at the Exposition, and still is in modern times, and hence 645 pieces were sold to the public as compared to 483 of the Round coins.

Bustman

Stunning coin Anaconda. I have seen a few but that one looks exceptional. Don't drop it, the coin is so heavy it will break the slab.

Lakesammman

Beautiful - had never noticed the dolphins until reading your writeup. To bad they had to flatten the tips to get it crammed into the holder

mrfred

Wait, I gotta catch my breath. Whew.

agfox

Beautiful coin Adrian. I too had never noticed the dolphins before. I LOVE learning something new.

I've seen one raw in the original box, and it's just a work of art for the coin world.

Baley

that is one of the best US coins!

seriously, i like that better than a 1913 nickel, way better than a 94s barber dime, even better than an 1885 trade dollar!

the only things i would want more than that slug in my dream collection would be a brasher doubloon or an 1804 dollar

rounding out my top 10 would be a 1795 eagle, a MCMVII ex. high. relief lettered edge saint, a gobrecht dollar, and a gem 1796 quarter.

although now that I think about it there are a couple of coins that would bump the nickel and dime out, not for value but for size and general interest.

anyway, youre right adrian, awesome coin thanks for the image

pmh1nic

The $50 Octagonal Pan-Pac has always been one of my fantasy coins. I love the design but I know I'll never have enough disposable income to afford one (my wife will see to that) . Thanks for sharing it with us Anaconda (it would have looked even more strike propped up on that snake book of yours ).

MadMonk

Thanks Adrian. That is one helluva coin. My Fantasy coin as well, well other than those killer Franklins that you have!