The Jack Lee Lincoln Cent Collection

Stewart, it will be sad to see this top set go, but your correct, it will advance someone else collection. Unfortunately, Jack does not have a single coin I could afford to upgrade at this time– its just that good of a set. But I am sure others will be all over it.

WS

Great set and Jack has chosen to leave it open for all to enjoy. His 1926S MS65RD has a population of 1/0.

Gee, that coin will be fun to watch! Any ideas as to who might want to upgrade their 1926S?

RegistryNut

There are a lot of Lincolns there I'd love to be able to see.
That 42-S and 42-D in 68 for instance.
Amazing.

Stewart,
I don't think the coins are going to be in the FUN auction. Right now, they are listed in the December Houston Signature auction.
Although I have mixed feelings about it, there are a couple coins I could use. I was just getting to know Jack. He was a really nice guy. I had sold him the 17-D in 66 and a couple weeks later he was gone.

Jack

<< <i>Jack the knife - And so it was you who sold him that P.O.S. 17 D in 66 red.

Stewart,
You got me there. I agree, the 17-D is not a pretty coin. It clearly didn't fit with my set. Jack and I reached an appropriate purchase agreement. An interesting finding, however, is that the Mershon coin has the exact same smudge in the right obverse field. Very strange.

Jack >>



So Jack was just buying plastic?

Both Jacks?

Why stop at two icons?

Heritage is Calling Jack Lee's set the #1 All time Finest Set of Lincoln Cents, not the #2 set.


Here is the text from the email Heritage just sent out:


Coin News... #1 All-Time Finest Lincoln Cent Set in Houston Auction

The Professional Coin Grading Service has just finished grading, encapsulating, and pedigreeing the Lincoln Cent Collection from the estate of the renowned dealer Jack Lee. The complete set will be offered in our Houston Signature Auction, taking place at the Houston Money Show of the Southwest, Dec. 4-6, 2008.

In PCGS's widest category of Lincoln Cents, the Basic Set, Circulation Strikes (1909-Present), the Jack Lee coins are now firmly in the leading position as the Finest All-Time Set. The Lee Set, which is 100% complete, has also been certified as 98.76% Red in color, leading to an astounding Weighted GPA of 68.685. The complete set of coins is now listed on the PCGS website.

Jack Lee was an admired numismatist, a worthy competitor, and a dear friend for more than three decades. His passing affected many of us at Heritage — quite literally, dozens of our numismatists had known Jack for decades. As professionals, we all could appreciate Jack's keen eye in his selection of these Lincoln cents. We expected that the Registry rating would certainly be in the top three, and were thrilled at the #1 ranking — further evidence of Jack's inability to resist buying the finest coins he encountered for his personal account. The Jack Lee pedigree, so important to Morgan dollar enthusiasts, will now be equally important to Lincoln aficionados. Heritage is thrilled to play a part in ensuring that his name will be remembered and appreciated by generations of numismatists

When and if Stewart's set is auctioned off, I will make it a #1 priority to attend the sale and, hopefully, buy a coin or two. I have no interest in even lot viewing virtually any other registered Mint State Lincoln set. I would suspect most of the neat coins would be simply making yet another auction appearance. No disrespect to Jack's set, which I am sure, overall, is amazing.

Wondercoin

I'm sure there are some great coins in Jack's collection and it deserves respect as does the man. History won't remember him for his Lincoln collection, but I know personnally he enjoyed shifting gears and doing it. I've learned after a decade of trying to put together a top set that it takes more than a decade to do it, regardless of how much money you have - unless you are extremely lucky. It's great though that we can have a way to honor a numismatic giant ... It's just funny to me that it will be the Lincoln collectors. Who'd a thunk it?

No disrespect meant to Stewart, Doug, or any other fantastic Lincoln Sets mentioned in this forum, but everyone seems to be forgetting about another unbelievable PCGS Lincoln set that resides on the East coast, but remains unregistered. I'm sure most of you know whom I am speaking of.

Dan

Game on.

Jack

Do we have any big players at this time?

<< <i>Heritage is Calling Jack Lee's set the #1 All time Finest Set of Lincoln Cents, not the #2 set.


Here is the text from the email Heritage just sent out:


Coin News... #1 All-Time Finest Lincoln Cent Set in Houston Auction
>>



Kind of a BS move IMO. They combined the memorial cents with the wheat cents to "create" the #1 combined set. It was never registered that way before Lee passed away. This is a reason a set should stay at a top rank for a minium amount of time (six months or one year perhaps) before it can qualify for the all time finest set list.

You could combine the #15 memorial set with Stuart's coins and create a #1 combined set that would beat the Lee set created by Heritage for the FUN auction.

Hey "MC Copper,"

It may be a perfect storm for collectors out there. I don't think dealers are going to be building up inventory out of this sale, and there may not be many top guns passing out blank checks right now. Sounds like it will be interesting!

Don't sense much interest in this sale of the "#1" Lincoln set of all time.

I think you're right. Live bidding may be crazy tonight. Anyone with cash and holding similar coins will bid these up so as to protect their investment rather than see them sell at ridiculously low levels.

After viewing a lot of the low pop coins in the Jack Lee Collection, I have a question. Who decided to re-encapsulate the entire collection in new PCGS holders with Jack Lee pedigree, was it Jack before he passed, or Heritage when they took on the consignment? One of the points made by Stewart Blay in the discussion session at last summer’s ANA Baltimore PCGS luncheon was, to paraphrase him “keep copper coins in original holders, they’ve passed the test of time and will be less likely to deteriorate by being exposed to the elements”. Brian Wagner has chimed in on this to me as well concerning MPL. This is one of the reasons I prize any of my MPL’s in the OGH (especially the Reds), since I know there is less likelihood they have been “played with”, and less likely to get those ugly carbon spots if they have been in a holder for 10 years. I would assume that many of Jack’s coins were in original OGH and wonder if they would not be bringing higher prices if they were still in original plastic? Just my opinion, but curious what others think?
Jonathan

I directed a rather large consignment to Bowers and Merena Auction in their recent November sale. I think they did a nice job in presenting the collection and auctioning off the coins. The coins were not Lincoln cents but were high grade PCGS graded SLQ and WLH. I noticed considerable weakness in the bids except the very low population coins <10/0 of "high quality" where well healed registry players battled for these coins. I predict you will most likely see the same scenario played out here with these Lincoln cents.

Personally, I think the pre-auction bids look alright. I mean, some of the Lee coins aren't exactly PQ for the grade, as pointed out, but for those that are, the bidding has been brisk. I think that PQ stuff will sell for predictable prices, and the schwag will go to the bottom feeders. JMHO.

And I still think there's a chance that everyone's hoping these coins go out at bargain prices, and they're all just circling their prey like sharks in a tank. If this really does become a feeding frenzy, well, that will have to be beneficial to prices in the end.

Mid Auction Update:

O.K. I just watched the first lots go off, and while there were some apparant deals to be had, like the 1924-d at $10K, and a 19-d at $4500, I think what we're really seeing is an exapmle of how widely varied the prices can be within a particular grade. Nobody is going to pay a premium price for an overgraded coin, which some appear to clearly be. But when confronted with an opportunity to aquire one of the true best, the sky is still the limit. Don't look at this so much as a market correction. See it as shrewd collectors buying the coin, not the holder.

Jack,

The steels were a big surprise to me, but I may be out of touch since it has been four or more years since I bought an MS68 steel cent. Almost all of the middle dates went for healthy prices, and I'm not talking about middle date Red MS68's, which are an animal all of their own.

1943 MS68 - $5,175
1943-d MS68 - $2,760
1943-d/d MS68 - $14,950
1943-s MS68 - $7,475


Overall, this sale didn't have nearly the shock value that previous big Lincoln set auctions have had. His estate probably got back 75% of what he paid for them (just a WAG here)