NYINC 2018

On a whim, and because the lot was so cheap, I won the following coin from Stacks-Bowers auction Saturday, lot 21112.

IRELAND. Hiberno-Norse. Penny, ND (ca. 1035-60). PCGS MS-65 Secure Holder.

S-6132; O'S-16. Long cross with hand in first and third reverse quarter and pellet in second quarter. Without hand at neck on portrait. A fantastic example, struck just prior to the Norman Conquest, with deep tone loaded with color, and a strike vastly superior to most seen for the issue. Worthy of inclusion in a collection of the finest material available from the period.

Provenance: From the Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation.

This penny is from a hoard that came onto the market perhaps 5 years ago that contained many high grade (very many 63's, some 64's, perhaps two 65's and maybe one 66) pennies of this type plus an earlier type. Many were attractively toned. From fading memory, I believe the Cardinal specimen to be the most attractive of the grouping even though it may not be the highest graded. The color of this coin is simply out of this world.

For those who do not know Cardinal, he is a prominent member on the light side. He is an exceptionally sharp and knowledgable collector, and has assembled some of the finest collections of early US dollars, coppers and exonumia. He is also a very nice guy. I am honored to own a coin that he once owned. Too bad this coin is not the 1794 "specimen" US Early Dollar, but I am realistic...

EVP