DALLAS, TX.- An 1880 Coiled Hair Stella, Judd-1660, PR67 NGC. CAC sold for $2.28 million to lead Heritage’s August 26-31 ANA U.S. Coins Signature® Auction to $51,171,731. That total, combined with the $16,954,975 ANA World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction August 27-29, raised the combined total for the events, in which numerous auction records were set, to $68,126,706.
“As we continue deeper into this bullish market for numismatics, there is often doubt about the collecting community’s capacity to absorb these amazing, expensive rarities,” says Todd Imhof, Executive Vice President of Heritage Auctions. “But auction after auction, Heritage is delivering new and/or emboldened bidders, which results in highly satisfying prices for our consignors.”
This magnificent 1880 Coiled Hair is one of just nine examples traced of the rarest of the four gold stella varieties. The result represents the second-highest price ever realized at auction for an 1880 Coiled Hair stella, and was one of three coins in the auction that eclipsed the $2 million plateau.
Also topping $2 million was an 1879 Liberty Head Quintuple Stella, Judd-1643, Pollock-1843, Low R.7, PR64 Deep Cameo PCGS — a coin that broke its own record when it sold for $2,160,000, surpassing the previous record of $1.88 million when it was sold in 2016. Only five examples are known to collectors, and one of them is included in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, forever out of reach to the collecting community.
The third coin in the auction to reach at least $2 million was an 1874 Bickford Ten Dollar, Judd-1373, Pollock-1518, R.8, PR65 Deep Cameo PCGS that drew a winning bid of $2,040,000, topping the previous record of $1.98 million set at Heritage in 2022. This beautiful rarity is one of just two examples known of one of the most celebrated issues in the U.S. pattern series.
All three came to Heritage as part of The Costa Family Collection, Part I, a trove that landed 94 lots in new collections. Other highlights from the collection included, but were not limited to:
• An 1879 Coiled Hair Stella, PR65 PCGS. CAC: $1.44 million — surpassing the previous auction record of $1.05 million that was set at Heritage in 2019
• An 1852 Assay Office Fifty Dollar, MS64 PCGS. CAC. K-14, R.5: $690,000, racing past the previous auction record of $411,250 that was set at Heritage in 2014
• An 1880 Flowing Hair Stella, PR66 Cameo NGC: $492,000
Tops among the 16 lots sold in the auction from The Alymaya Collection was the Duckor-Godard specimen of the 1921 Double Eagle MS66 PCGS that established an auction record at $1,560,000. Three other 1921 Saint-Gaudens double eagles, including the one Heritage sold in November 2005 for $1,092,500, have brought seven-figure results.
Other highlights from The Alymaya Collection included a pair of exceptional Saint-Gaudens double eagles: a CAC-approved 1927-S, MS67 PCGS that closed at $690,000 to double the previous auction record that was set in 2005 at Heritage, and a 1931-D MS66 PCGS CAC that brought $504,000, eclipsing the previous record of $360,000 set at Heritage in 2024.
The sixth lot in the auction to reach seven figures was a San Francisco Mint Type Two Hallmark Vertical Gold Ingot. 398.55 Ounces that struck gold at $1,326,000. The first known auction appearance of a San Francisco Mint gold ingot of at least 400 ounces is even more remarkable because it was manufactured in 1951. It was believed previously that production of ingots of this type and size was stopped in 1950, a theory debunked by the oval hallmark and vertical layout of this ingot. Stamped No. 98, it is the highest-numbered example known of this type and class.
Among the highlights from the 33-lot Colorado Collection was an 1800 Capped Bust Right Eagle BD-1, High R.3, SP66 NGC that prompted 58 bids before it ended at $576,000, a result that blew past the previous record of $310,500 that was set at Heritage in 2008.
Other top attractions from the Colorado Collection included, but were not limited to:
• An 1831 Quarter Eagle, PR64 Cameo PCGS: $312,000
• An 1802 BD-3 Quarter Eagle, MS65 NGC — the finest known example of the date: $228,000
• An 1808 Quarter Eagle, BD-1, MS62 NGC: $228,000
Another collection featured in the auction was The Desert Find of 1889-CC Morgan Dollars, a 35-lot assemblage that is among the greatest Morgan dollar finds of modern times. Each of the collection’s lots, many of which are Prooflike to Deep Prooflike, is in Brilliant Uncirculated condition. This trove boasts magnificent coins that were set aside for more than half a century by a family in Nevada.
Top results for the collection include, but were not limited to:
• An 1889-CC Dollar MS64 Deep Mirror Prooflike PCGS. VAM-3: $180,000
• An 1889-CC Dollar MS64+ PCGS. VAM-5A: $168,000
• An 1889-CC Dollar MS64 PCGS. VAM-5: $105,000
Other top results in the auction included, but were not limited to:
• An 1897 Double Eagle JD-1, R.5, PR66 Deep Cameo PCGS. CAC: $432,000 — surpassed previous record of $300,000 set at Heritage in 2022
• An 1887 Double Eagle, PR66 Deep Cameo PCGS: $396,000
• A 1793 S-8 Cent, MS67 Brown PCGS: $396,000
• 1906 Double Eagle JD-1, High R.4, PR66 Cameo PCGS. CAC from The Cleveland Lake Collection: $312,000, topping the 2024 auction record set at Heritage of $264,000
World & Ancient
Nearly 100 bids poured in for a rare Pattern that reveals a view into the implementation of the Ducaton as a denomination of United East India Company coinage, driving a Dutch Colony. United East India Company (VOC) gold Proof Pattern Ducaton 1728 PR63 NGC to the top of Heritage’s ANA World & Ancient Coins Platinum Session and Signature® Auction at $360,000.
The magnificent result for the coin, which was one of 332 lots in the event from The Peh Family Collection, Part II, more than doubled the high pre-auction estimate for the coin.
Also from The Peh Family Collection was one of the most celebrated types in World numismatics and a design that forever cemented the legacy of engraver William Wyon: the Victoria gold Proof “Una and the Lion” 5 Pounds 1839 PR61 Ultra Cameo NGC, which reached $210,000. It is believed that about 400 original strikings were produced for Victoria’s delayed coronation Proof Set of 1839, but popular demand soon outstripped that initial figure, prompting the Royal Mint to produce to-order examples for almost 50 years until 1886.
A João V gold 6400 Reis (Peça) 1727-B AU55 NGC from the same collection, the first 6400 Reis struck in Brazil, drew a winning bid of $192,000. This rarity from the first year of issue, and from the elusive Bahia mint, is the only piece to reach the market in recent decades, and one of just five known examples.
Also soaring past pre-auction expectations was a Central American Republic gold 8 Escudos 1828 CR-F MS63+ NGC from The Eternal Collection, Part II that quadrupled its high pre-auction estimate and set an auction record for the most ever paid for a Costa Rican coin when it finished at $240,000.
Another standout from the Eternal Collection was an exceedingly rare Republic silver Proof Pattern 8 Reales 1827 Go-WW PR64 Cameo NGC that tripled its high pre-auction estimate when it climbed to $180,000 — the most ever for a Cap and Rays 8 Reales. The Anglo-Mexican Mint Association took over production at the mint in Guanajuato in 1825 after Mexico’s independence and outsourced the engraving to Wyon in London. The example offered in this auction is the only example associated with the Guanajuato mint that has surfaced at a major auction house in recent years.
Other top offerings from the Eternal Collection included, but were not limited to:
• A Republic gold 8 Escudos 1839 QUITO-MV MS65 NGC: $144,000 — the second-highest price ever for an Ecuadorian coin, and the highest for this series
• An Estados Unidos silver Proof Essai “Caballito” Peso 1909 PR66 Cameo NGC: $132,000 — the most ever paid for a “Caballito” coin
• A South Peru. Republic gold 8 Escudos 1838 CUZCO-MS MS65 NGC: $132,000
A complete Victoria 15-Piece gold, silver, and copper “Una and the Lion” 1839 Proof Set NGC achieved $264,000. The 1839 Proof Set of Queen Victoria is one of the most desirable coronation sets in the history of global numismatics, and is always well-regarded. Each issue of this date is in Proof, but the coveted prize within the set is the “Una and the Lion” 5 Pound.
Among the 128 lots sold in the auction from The Gatsby Collection of South African Coinage, Part II, the top result was $222,000 for a Republic gold Proof 6 Pence 1897 PR63 Cameo NGC, a significant offering of a remarkable South African issue that has gone unseen within the marketplace for nearly a decade.
Also from the Gatsby Collection is a unique George V bronze Matte Proof Pattern Sovereign 1928-SA PR64 Brown NGC that fetched $111,000.
British coins always attract considerable bidding interest, as was the case for an Anne gold 5 Guineas 1709 MS61 PCGS, KM532, S-3567 OCTAVO edge that brought a winning bid of $216,000. This elusive post-union Mint State specimen remains among the hardest types to encounter at auction, particularly in such exceptional condition. In the past two decades, this date ranks as the second-rarest at auction, trailing only the 1713 issue by a narrow margin. This example is the finest certified by PCGS, with only two graded higher at NGC.
Another prized British coin in the auction was a William & Mary gold “Elephant & Castle” 5 Guineas 1693 MS63 NGC that realized $192,000. This is arguably the nicest William & Mary 5 Guineas bearing the elephant and castle symbol, an indicator of the gold bullion’s Royal African Company origin, that Heritage ever has had the honor to present. It is the finest NGC-certified specimen for this date and certainly one of the finest survivors still in existence.
Ancient coins also fared well in the auction, among them a Pertinax (1 January-28 March AD 193). AV aureus NGC Gem MS 5/5 - 5/5, Fine Style that reached $144,000. Helvius Pertinax was made a senator and heaped with honors, including the governorships of Moesia, Dacia and Syria. With Commodus descending into megalomania, a conspiracy formed and the plotters saw the elderly, widely respected Pertinax as the ideal candidate to replace him. Whether he was privy to the plot is uncertain, but immediately after the murder of Commodus on 31 December AD 192, Pertinax went to the Praetorian camp, promised the guard a bonus, and was proclaimed emperor.
An Augustus (27 BC-AD 14). AV aureus NGC Choice XF 5/5 - 3/5 sparked 39 bids on its way to $52,800. The type was minted to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the victory of Marcus Agrippa over Sextus Pompey in the sea Battle of Naulochos in Sicily in 36 BC, through the assistance of Diana. The battle marked the end of the Pompeian resistance against the Second Triumvirate.
A Julius Caesar, as Consul for the Third Time (46 BC), with Aulus Hirtius, as Praetor. AV aureus NGC Choice AU“star” 5/5 - 5/5 closed at $48,000. Hirtius was a key supporter of Caesar and served as one of Caesar's legates in Gaul from about 54 BC and was an envoy to Pompey in 50 BC. These aurei were used to pay Caesar's soldiers after the great triumphal parade.
“This auction achieved astounding results all around, with the most engagement and excitement originating in our dedicated, single-owner sessions,” says Kyle Johnson, Managing Director of World & Ancient Coins at Heritage Auctions, “proving Heritage as the market leader for any collection.”
