The March 2011 Baltimore Auction

Auction # 83 | View Auction Schedule and Details

Pre-Bidding Ends: 3/30/2011 2:00:00 PM PST
Live Floor and Internet Bidding Begins: 3/30/2011 3:00:00 PM PST

Lot #1590. 1840-O Seated Liberty Quarter. No Drapery. MS-63 (PCGS).

Description:

The No Drapery variety was struck first in early 1840 and remains much closer to the original concept design of Mint Engraver Gobrecht, later during 1840 the master hub was revised at the insistence of Mint Director Robert Patterson who brought in Robert Ball Hughes to modify Liberty by adding more drapery and making other adjustments to the design as he saw fit. Thus, for the collector, these initial No Drapery coins are highly coveted as true representatives of Gobrecht's genius. The present coin has much of the original mint bloom and luster, with a delicate tone of peach-gold covering both sides. The strike is reasonably sharp although both dies appear to have been lapped with the depth of the devices attenuated in areas. Trace hairlines from careless handling over the generations as well as a couple of shallow ticks are present in the fields. Condition Census quality and a desirable coin for the quarter specialist.
    Although no pedigree information accompanies this particular lot, the chances are this coin is from the fabulous New Orleans find discussed in detail in Dave Bowers’ American Coin Treasures and Hoards book. In brief:

                    On October 28, 1982, a few minutes past noon, excitement prevailed in the French Quarter in downtown New Orleans as earthmoving equipment brought to light a vast treasure of silver coins. The site, scheduled to be used for a new Meridien Hotel, may have secreted a long-forgotten bank reserve.
                    Passersby grabbed what they could in a frantic free-for-all. In the melee no accounting was ever made of what was found. However, it is estimated that over 1,000 silver pieces were found, including large numbers of Spanish-American silver coins. Apparently these had been buried in three cedar boxes. A report of the scramble by New Orleans dealer James H. Cohen noted:
                    “Visualize, if you will, businessmen in Brooks Brothers suits, women executives dressed in high heels and stockings, and laborers in their work clothes all on their hands and knees in mud at times up their waists, digging with their bare hands for buried treasure.”

    In the course of researching this Bowers learned that among large denomination United States silver coins there were various half dollars from about 1811 to 1837, plus a single 1798 dollar. Most attention by numismatists was centered on a remarkable cache of Liberty Seated quarter dollars struck at the nearby New Orleans Mint in 1840 and 1841, many if not most of which were in Mint State! The exact quantity of 1840-O and 1841-O quarters has been a matter of conjecture ever since. In his 1988 Encyclopedia Walter Breen suggested about 40 of the most plentiful variety, the 1841-O, but Bowers thought the number might be larger than that. Further details are given in the Bowers book.

PCGS Population: 3; 1 finer.

PCGS# 5393.