The Grand Prize of Hawaiian Numismatics - Reginald Huth Gold

Zoins

I just ran across this beautiful Reginald Huth Hawaiian gold medal auctioned by Goldberg back in 2012 where they call it the grand prize of Hawaiian numismatics.

Where does this rank in Hawaiian numismatics? Is it at the top of the list as stated?

This is: Ex: Ostheimer Collection; Edwards H. Metcalf Sale Lot 1527 February 1975 Auction $36,000; The Forsythe Collection.

TrueView:

https://www.pcgs.com/cert/24009240



Goldberg:

https://www.goldbergcoins.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/19/lot/47450/

Barndog

sure is pretty!

mariner67

Gorgeous!
Interestingly.....Roman numerals state 1893 but small dates in circles are 18 & 95.

Nap

Lovely design, but as it is but a fantasy piece (a British one, no less), it does not seem a particularly important coin to collectors of Hawaiian coinage.

Broadstruck

<< <i>Lovely design, but as it is but a fantasy piece (a British one, no less), it does not seem a particularly important coin to collectors of Hawaiian coinage. >>





There where many proofs & patterns of far greater importance in the Forsythe Collection.

Struck by Pinches it fits as well as a HK-8 Crystal Palace in the So-Called Dollar series... In the book but not a US issued medal.

Zoins

<< <i>Gorgeous!
Interestingly.....Roman numerals state 1893 but small dates in circles are 18 & 95. >>



The Roman numeral date is the 18th birthday of the Princess while 1895 is the date struck.

Zoins

<< <i>it does not seem a particularly important coin to collectors of Hawaiian coinage. >>



<< <i>There where many proofs & patterns of far greater importance in the Forsythe Collection. >>



The thing with importance is that it is subjective. For an objective measure, something like price is more easily compared.

When looking through the Forsythe Collection, this is the 2nd most expensive piece sold and prices dropped a lot afterwards. Additionally, the top selling item is a condition rarity business strike while this is an absolute rarity. The top three pieces are:

#1: $250,000 (condition rarity, 46,348 survivors)
#2: $200,000 (absolute rarity, 2 known)
#3: $85,000 (proof, 20 minted)

What is the most expensive Hawaiian numismatic item that has been sold?

renman95

<< <i>

<< <i>it does not seem a particularly important coin to collectors of Hawaiian coinage. >>



<< <i>There where many proofs & patterns of far greater importance in the Forsythe Collection. >>



The thing with importance is that it is subjective. For an objective measure, something like price is more easily compared.

When looking through the Forsythe Collection, this is the 2nd most expensive piece sold and prices dropped a lot afterwards. Additionally, the top selling item is a condition rarity business strike while this is an absolute rarity. The top three pieces are:

#1: $250,000 (condition rarity, 46,348 survivors)
#2: $200,000 (absolute rarity, 2 known)
#3: $85,000 (proof, 20 minted)

What is the most expensive Hawaiian numismatic item that has been sold? >>



Description...
Technically neither a $20 gold piece nor a pattern, the 1895 Huth pieces are nonetheless coveted by Hawaiian specialists. According to Medcalf, "They are extremely popular and seldom offered for sale." This specimen of the $20 gold 1895 issue is the only one available for purchase; the other example known resides in the Smithsonian&#146;s collection.

Zoins

<< <i>Description...
Technically neither a $20 gold piece nor a pattern, the 1895 Huth pieces are nonetheless coveted by Hawaiian specialists. According to Medcalf, "They are extremely popular and seldom offered for sale." This specimen of the $20 gold 1895 issue is the only one available for purchase; the other example known resides in the Smithsonian’s collection. >>



I read that and was wondering how true it was. I remember one or two forum members that are Hawaiian specialists but don't recall any recent posts.

I'm also interested in knowing the highest prices for Hawaiian items to gauge what the market is like for collectors.

commoncents05

Link.

-Paul

Nap

<< <i>Link.

-Paul >>



Just a small mark-up

Zoins

<< <i>

<< <i>Link.

-Paul >>



Just a small mark-up >>



Now selling for $450,999. Almost double the Forsythe sale price (including 17.5% Buyers Premium). That would be a healthy premium if it sells at that price.

Zoins

Here's the Cert Verification page.

Any idea why PCGS doesn't mention the Forsythe sale or Edwards H. Metcalf sale (Lot 1527 February 1975 Auction $36,000)?

Also, given that there is one in the Smithsonian, would this one be called the Ostheimer specimen?

johnny9434

thats pretty good.

Lakesammman

Lots of cool Hawaiian material - I really like the one you posted and the bottom piece below.

LanceNewmanOCC

.
to me, this beats the other images. if the quality was just a scoach better. comes close to capturing the true look, especially the cam.

apologies, i cannot add to your inquiry zoins as i am not good with hawaii numismatics.

yosclimber

Obverse no doubt inspired by the Sicily decadrachm. Not as cool without the quadriga on the other side, though. :-)

http://coins.ha.com/itm/greek/ancient-coins/ancients-sicily-syracuse-time-of-dionysius-i-406-367-bc-ar-decadrachm-33mm-4316-gm-12h-andnbsp-/a/3037-30873.s

Weiss

I'll put myself in the dislike column on this piece. The design is awkward and unbalanced. Silly, even.

I think the proof 1883 and 1891 pieces posted by Lakesammman are far, far superior to the Huth piece.

coinlieutenant

Its importance is only truly defined by the individual person, but I think generally there are other pieces of Hawaiiana that are more coveted. Certain National bank notes, plantation tokens, high grade business strikes of the 1883 coinage as well as varying metal patterns all rank high in Hawaii issuances. A good litmus test on Hawaiiana relative demand can be found by investigating how the Damon sale went. The offerings from that collection were much more extensive that the goldberg sale you linked to. That being said, the previous owner of all these pieces, including the one you posted is a good friend. I owe him a phone call and will ask his opinion.

John

Zoins

Very nice coins Lakesammman. I love the color on the Akahi Dala.

Thanks for mentioning the Damon sale coinlieutenant / John. That was a very nice collection with a great history. I'm a big fan of Hawaii numismatics and would love to hear your friend's personal perspective on the importance of various pieces.

coppercoins

I wonder who the designer(s) of these pieces was/were?

The dolphins on the gold piece smack directly of Robert Aitken's $50 Pan Pac or Hermon A. MacNeil's original design for the Standing Liberty Quarter, yet the bust of the princess looks more like Morgan's work.

Does anyone know who designed these pieces?

keyman64

Cool coin, cool thread.

Timbuk3

Sweet !!! :-)

yosclimber

<< <i>I wonder who the designer(s) of these pieces was/were? >>


John H. Pinches (head of the firm Pinches & Co., London) was the die cutter,
but the designer was a sculptor whose name I don't know. See:
https://books.google.com/books?id=y7M_AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA5-PA194&lpg=RA5-PA194&dq=Reginald+Huth+Pinches#v=onepage&q=Reginald%20Huth%20Pinches&f=false
"Beside doing contract work for the Mint, Birmingham, this able medalist has cut numerous dies
from models supplied to him by sculptors." (The Monthly Numismatic Circular, Spink and Son's, January 1909).


<< <i>The dolphins on the gold piece smack directly of Robert Aitken's $50 Pan Pac or Hermon A. MacNeil's original design for the Standing Liberty Quarter, >>


I'd say the Syracuse/Sicily decadrachm I posted upthread is a much closer match, at least in terms of the number of dolphins (4)
and their positions around the bust. It's a classic piece, and the Pan Pac $50 may have also been influenced by it.
Perhaps you meant the design of each individual dolphin, though.


<< <i>yet the bust of the princess looks more like Morgan's work. >>

Zoins

Now selling for $450,999.

Anyone know what this ended up selling for? PCGS Cert Verification doesn't show anything:

https://www.pcgs.com/cert/24009240

Zoins

Anyone following the Huth pieces at FUN? Of note the silver only has 1 dolphin while the rest have four. It's a shame these were all recently slabbed by PCGS but don't have TrueView or CoinFacts images. I would have hoped PCGS at least take CoinFacts photos for these.

• silver - 25 struck
• copper - unique
• iron - 3 struck.

There is also a Queen Liliuokalani piece being offered:

• silver

Here's the Heritage video on YouTube for these lots:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3exzp1ANDw

ricko

That is a nice gold coin..... I have never collected Hawaiian coins. It seems like a specialized niche and the two people I have known that collected them always bemoaned their availability. Cheers, RickO

Zoins

@ricko said:
That is a nice gold coin..... I have never collected Hawaiian coins. It seems like a specialized niche and the two people I have known that collected them always bemoaned their availability. Cheers, RickO

I agree there are a lot of rarities and it does take a lot of patience to collect in this area.

Zoins

Sold for:

Princess Kaiulani

• silver - 25 struck - $33,600.00
• copper - unique - $66,000.00
• iron - 3 struck - $36,000.00

Queen Liliuokalani

• silver - $38,400.00

So a 4 medal Princess Kaiulani set with the $200,000 gold would have gone for:

$335,600.00 ($200,000.00 + $33,600.00 + $66,000.00 + $36,000.00)

Not bad for some privately struck medals.

Lakesammman

The buyer of the iron piece showed it to me after the sale - nicer than I would have expected.

Zoins

@Lakesammman said:
The buyer of the iron piece showed it to me after the sale - nicer than I would have expected.

I thought it would be a nice piece from the HA photos. Glad it is!

Zoins

I just noticed that these are listed in PCGS CoinFacts:

http://www.pcgscoinfacts.com/Hierarchy.aspx?c=1757&title=Hawaii+Medals+(1891-1893)

Zoins

Old Thread Update

Just ran into this piece again in an ad while reading PCGS Books. This is an animated GIF where the coins rotate so you need to wait for it.

Hemispherical

@Zoins

That OP gold is awesome. Re-posting pic.

Zoins

@LanceNewmanOCC said:
.
to me, this beats the other images. if the quality was just a scoach better. comes close to capturing the true look, especially the cam.

apologies, i cannot add to your inquiry zoins as i am not good with hawaii numismatics.

Thanks for posting this photo! This is a nice look. It would be great to get the reverse too.

Zoins

Apparently, this was a King Farouk piece as well. This is from the Bowers & Merena August 2000 sale where it realized $50,600.

Alfred James Ostheimer III and Jacquenette (Jacque) Cummings Ostheimer had an amazing collection!

Namvet69

Thanks for the information and history. I like it! Peace Roy

Zoins

Thread Revival

This silver specimen is now available.

Makes me miss my trips to the islands!

DrDarryl

I actually have draft book in the works on the subject of the Princess Victoria Ka'iulani modern issues from the Royal Hawaiian Mint (RHM), The Hawaiian Money Standard Catalog 2nd edition,1991, lists nothing about these issues, as they were released after the book was published. These issues ranges from 10mm to 39mm in diameter.

The following RHM 1 oz gold crown issues are from my wife's collection, which I gifted to her. She actually had an exhibit at the Whitman Expo-Baltimore a few years back with these 1 oz crown issues.

Mintage 55.

Mintage less than 55

Mintage 400

Mintage 20

This undocumented series is ripe with newfound errors.

DrDarryl

A Lili'uokalani 20 Dala coin displayed at the Smithsonian American History Museum. It was displayed in the same panel with a 1933 Double Eagle.

DrDarryl

Old snapshot of PCGS CoinFacts (image taken down)

In my collection (copy stamped bottom reverse)

No longer listed on PCGS CoinFacts. In my collection (copy stamped bottom reverse).

CopperWire

There was a period of time where Princess Kaiulani and Reginald Huth both lived in England. They lived fairly close to one another and may have crossed paths at a ball. This was Victorian England after all. I am still researching to confirm whether of not they actually met in person.