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A Plated Granberg Sale

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:1,500.00 USD Estimated At:2,500.00 USD
A Plated Granberg Sale
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United States Coin Company. CATALOGUE OF THE SUPERB COLLECTION OF UNITED STATES COINS BELONGING TO A PROMINENT AMERICAN, CONTAINING THE MOST REMARKABLE SERIES OF EARLY SILVER COINS EVER OFFERED AT AUCTION; FIFTY-NINE VARIETIES OF 1794 CENTS, OVER FORTY VARIETIES OF 1796 CENTS, CHOICE CENTS OF 1793 AND OTHER DATES, AND A FINE COLLECTION OF GOLD COINS. New York, May 19-21, 1915. Tall 8vo, original blue embossed cloth, gilt; floral endpapers. 50 pages; 2 blank leaves; 1442 lots; 7 fine photographic plates. Hand-priced in red ink. Superior impressions to plates. Fine. Adams 23, rated A overall and for large cents, early silver and late silver in particular: “MS 1793 half cent. Fabulous 1794 1¢ varieties, many ex-Gilbert. Strong 1796 1¢ as well. Choice early silver, also RR mintmarks: MS 1804, 1822 10¢. MS 1804 25¢; MS 1794-1803 50¢; proof 1847-1858 $1. 1826, 1827, 1855-D $2.50.” A nice example of this rare and most important catalogue; one of only a half dozen or so plated examples to come to market in the past three decades. As usual with U.S. Coin Company sales, the plates are of uneven quality, but remain superior to most of the period. Three of the plates depict choice early date large cents; three illustrate early silver coins in superb condition; and the final plate is devoted to early United States gold coins. In a July 1962 Numismatist article, Jack W. Ogilvie observed that Granberg “possessed one of the most outstanding collections in America.” In 1913, B. Max Mehl sold important selections from his collection, including 1884 and 1885 trade dollars and the Idler 1804 dollar; additional Granberg coins were sold in two 1919 Mehl sales. Pete Smith observes in American Numismatic Biographies that the “remainder of his collection was sold piecemeal to Woodin, Raymond and others.” This shotgun method of dispersal has deprived Granberg of much acclaim, though anyone perusing an illustrated example of this 1915 catalogue can scarcely disagree with Ogilvie’s assessment of his numismatic prowess. Ex Kolbe Sale 111, lot 184. Ex Dave Steine library.