Great Collections' Auction of the Jack Lee-Coronet 1893-S Morgan
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Great Collections is auctioning off the Jack Lee-Coronet 1893-S PCGS MS67CAC and with a week to go, it is already over $1.1 million hammer. The highest bid increments are $10,000 (anything above 500K) which makes for a lively sequence of bid increments.
I would think the consignor is feeling pretty good right now about selecting Great Collections to auction this coin.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
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Very nice and exiting!
I know Jack Lee is known for impeccable quality. Is Coronet as well known?
That is truly spectacular
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I can only imagine the excitement having that much on the line!
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The TrueView is more flattering.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
It’s ugly.
I respect the coin, the grade and the CAC sticker. However, I honestly think it should have more eye appeal given the trifecta it holds. Just my opinion.
No it’s not. It’s amazing and 1000% original. Cornelius Vermuele. You gotta pay strong to buy these classic gems - it’s almost to basal value.
I bet this coin is spectacular in hand
As has just been illustrated, one person’s “amazing and 100% original” can be another’s “ugly”.😉
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Beautiful, original 93-S. Out of my budget by about $1,000,000+.
Dave
Think about it. Its an 1893S Morgan in THAT condition. WOWSERS
Successful BST with ad4400, Kccoin, lablover, pointfivezero, koynekwest, jwitten, coin22lover, HalfDimeDude, erwindoc, jyzskowsi, COINS MAKE CENTS, AlanSki, BryceM
That toning is certainly not for everyone.
But I must say that I like it MUCH better than what happened to the Norweb example.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Just to answer your question, Coronet had the #1 ranked registry set of Morgans, that included this coin. Before Jack Lee purchased it, it was owned by Cornelius Vermeule, the author of Numismatic Art in America.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
Good to know. Thanks.
How did the Coronet and Jack Lee collections compare?
Eye appeal is in the eyes of the beholder. This coin (pictured below) is a PCGS MS-65 CAC 1893-S that sold for $600K+ back in 2014 (was part of Elisberg collection). Others can elaborate on why the 2 point difference in grade but as far as eye appeal is concerned I prefer it over the 67 referenced in the OP.
@pmh1nic The 65 CAC one has better toning and looks nicer. I wouldn't mind having either one.
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Is it plated from way back? I'm curious about the "1000% original" comment because that seems like pretty classic post-dip toning to me. But I guess if there's a very old pic of it looking the same way that could point toward originality.
May get your chance at the 65 CAC in the October Legend sale
@Floridafacelifter I couldn't make the opening bid on that coin. Just a dream
Successful BST with ad4400, Kccoin, lablover, pointfivezero, koynekwest, jwitten, coin22lover, HalfDimeDude, erwindoc, jyzskowsi, COINS MAKE CENTS, AlanSki, BryceM
I bought the Eliasberg coin (which was raw at the time) out of the Eliasberg Sale in the mid 1990's. I also bought both 1893-S Dollars in PCGS 67 (the coin in GC and the Norweb coin) directly from Jack Lee as a pair for 1.2 Million in the early 2000's.
The Norweb coin was conserved by NGC and didn't fare so well, so the Vermuele coin is clearly the best one available. The Eliasberg coin has better eye appeal (IMO) but the Vermuele coin is certainly technically nice.
Both images should be apologized for. Neither are accurate. The coin is prettier than either of them.
Based on a chance visit into Stacks as this sale was being catalogued, Harvey took it out of the flip to show me and I'm glad I was sitting down. I find the toning and lustre resonates strongly with that of my old 1901-S 25c PCGS MS67 (later 67+) ex Gardner.
@JimTyler "sure plays a mean pin-ball"
My guess is the Legend sales info from Coronet has a really good picture.
The Jack Lee provenance should be, IIRC, to both Jack's first and second sets.
Dan Ratner bought the coin on the floor for Jack out of Vermeule.
Jack Lee was a famous collector. He put his heart and soul into Morgans for decades. He knew impeccable quality before there were TPGs to tell him about it.
Mr. Vermeule was a passionate collector and, more, a connoisseur of art in many of its more exquisite forms of expression.
Coronet was a Legend retail customer who had a set put together for him.
Guess whose provenance I think matters least.
The Norweb coin was runied - Looks like it sat in Jewluster for an hour.
Oh to have been around back then…….from 1988-2000 I was in medical school and residency busting my hump for minimum wage!
I'm a fan of the toning. When you see this coin in-hand, as many did at the ANA a week ago, you're taken back. You think your eyes are deceiving you with the date.
PS. This is GC's first 7-figure coin auction.
Owner/Founder GreatCollections
GreatCollections Coin Auctions - Certified Coin Auctions Every Week - Rare Coins & Coin Values
Congratulations- what a 2021 you have had!
Chris - "didn't fare so well"... quite humorous considering the coin downgraded 2 points.
Owner/Founder GreatCollections
GreatCollections Coin Auctions - Certified Coin Auctions Every Week - Rare Coins & Coin Values
Thanks. And still four months to go!
Owner/Founder GreatCollections
GreatCollections Coin Auctions - Certified Coin Auctions Every Week - Rare Coins & Coin Values
What's fugly to me can be a teal beauty to someone else so to each our own
Jack Lee is the name I associate with Morgans. I love that he couldn't stay away from Morgans after selling his first set. That's dedication!
Do you know who Coronet is? Is this person part of the collecting community?
Coronet is a Legend customer name. I could tell you, but they'd be entitled to kill me.
Though I'd pay (bigly) to watch the battle, I'd hate to see the partners get hurt struggling for possession of the weapon
Haha. It's fine, I don't know or care to know who it is specifically.
I was just wondering if you knew the person to make your assessment, which you do.
NOT
Jeez
Then you can't tell me?
I think I was just trolled. At least I hope so
edited to add: if not, I wonder if I can flag myself for trolling him.
Jeez
I've never seen it in hand, but I like the first set of photos of the Jack Lee coin above. The luster appears exceptional, which can make or break a toning pattern like that.
A candidate for numismatic crime of the century. I think it was something like reverse electrolysis, but runied by any other name still spells smells as foul.
Coin is amazing historical treasure but not terribly attractive as most but not all collectors will agree. Personally speaking if I were spending a million bucks I would require high eye appeal. So I vote for the ms 65 specimen
You weren't, sorry to disappoint! When you were rating provenance, I thought you would know the person through your connections and when you said you could tell me, I took that as confirmation you did know the person. Thanks for the clarification.
The OP coin certainly rates the grade, really nice detail. I do not care for the tarnish as shown, and likely would not in hand. That is a personal preference though. Cheers, RickO
in-hand impressions notwithstanding, the date/mm combination accepted, opinions both for and against taken on their face value...........................the pictures in this thread of the OP coin aren't very flattering and tend to show a coin which is sort of lacking on the eye-appeal scale, especially the in-holder pictures.
Folks need to recognize they are looking at an image... grading images and comparing images. In the 65-67 range, there is really no substitute for an in hand review. Obviously that is just simply not always possible, but it seems fair that there should be some footnotes to keep the discussion in perspective... Especially if one considers condition rarity and what has survived for the date.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
The best isn't always the best looking. And that's OK.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
The best isn't always the best looking. And that's OK.
that's why terms like top-pop, finest known, etc. are sort of useless hype. I've always thought "highest graded" was the better choice, then let buyers/bidders figure things out.
I've seen this coin in hand (slabbed); it's well deserving of its 67 grade and is truly original and not messed with.
The toning on the coin is a neutral for me, but I don't expect 1880-S type of toning for this date either.
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
Between best and best looking, give me best looking. I don't play for registry points, but if I did, I might think differently.
Unless it looks nothing like that picture in hand it’s still ugly.
I have some ugly coins in my collection. But they are very rare or finest known for the variety or have some other overriding attribute. Eye appeal isn't everything. But I think the eye appeal of this coin is a strong negative and I would want another 93-S for my collection.
This one’s nice and much preferable
That’s why they call trueviews “ glamour shots” sometimes replicating the true view in hand is near impossible