1841-O 25C MS(PCGS#5400)

Spring 2023 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

6249

等级

MS63

价格

20,339

详细说明

1841-O Liberty Seated Quarter. Briggs 1-A. MS-63 (NGC). If this coin hails from the famous New Orleans Hoard -- and its appearance is strongly suggestive of such a conclusion -- then it is certainly among the finest survivors from that find. Full, softly frosted luster flows over surfaces that display considerable brilliance. For the obverse we note only a few blushes of charcoal patina in isolated peripheral areas, while delicate sandy-gold overtones appear to drift toward the border on the reverse. The strike is superior for the issue with most features sharp and only a touch of softness to the central high points. The fabulous New Orleans Hoard is discussed in detail in Dave Bowers' American Coin Treasures and Hoards. 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 research, 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 EncyclopediaWalter 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. NGC Census: 16; 7 finer (MS-65 finest). PCGS# 5400. NGC ID: 23SL. Click here for certification details from NGC.