Heritage Auctions’ annual Florida United Numismatists (FUN) auction on January 3-8 will feature a 1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific octagonal.
The coin is one of the most sought after 20th century US rarities.
It was minted in San Francisco for the city’s Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
The Panama-Pacific issue was produced in two varieties
The event was held to mark the opening of the Panama Canal, one of the most extraordinary feats of engineering in world history.
Two versions of the Greek themed design (by artist Robert Aitken) were produced – one round, the other an unusual octagonal shape.
The round example is the rarer of the two. While they were minted in equal numbers, the octagonal was more popular with buyers. In all 645 were sold, compared with 483 of the round specimen.
The unsold pieces were melted down.
This MS66-graded specimen is one of the best on the market (although there are a couple more at MS67).
Heritage expects it to make in excess of $384,000 – a record sum for either variety.
An 1870-CC Liberty Double Eagle is set to be another highlight.
The lot was produced in the first year the Carson City mint opened.
Only 3,789 were produced. While the mint was positioned close to a rich seam of silver and gold, it was actually cheaper to ship the raw metals to San Francisco.
Collectors were also slow to cotton on to branch mint issues, increasing the rarity of this coin and others like it.
It's now expected to beat $241,200.
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