LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 Jan. FUN Signature Coin Auction #454  / 

3305

1857-S $20 MS67 NGC

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:65,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1857-S $20 MS67 NGC
<B>1857-S $20 MS67 NGC.</B></I> Ex: <I>S.S. Central America. </B></I>It is difficult for modern-day collectors to envision how rudimentary--perhaps closer to nonexistent--the art of weather forecasting was in 1857. Needless to say, those considering an ocean voyage could not exactly turn on the television and get a week's worth of projections. What little weather forecasting was done for the seafaring public was a mixture of rudimentary science, old wives' tales, and guesswork. <BR> Q. David Bowers, in his <I>Guide Book of Double Eagle Gold Coins, </B></I>says that "few aboard the <I>S.S. Central America</B></I> in September 1857 knew or cared that travel in the Caribbean Sea and up the Atlantic Coast could be perilous ... . Hurricanes often struck without warning and with terrific force in the late summer season." It was perhaps even unknown that September is traditionally one the busiest months for hurricanes, and it is now known as "the Hurricane Month" among weather forecasters.<BR> And despite all the movie clichés of thieves and miscreants flailing wildly as they plunge to the depths, their soaking clothes overloaded with ill-gotten gains, there is nothing that devalues gold more quickly than the certain prospect of imminent drowning. Aboard the sinking ship, Bowers writes, "... a carpetbag filled with $16,500 in $20 gold pieces was too heavy to remove from a cabin, and Mrs. Jane Badger, who had packed it by emptying the coins from a trunk, left the golden array behind. Later, her husband, Capt. Thomas W. Badger, dumped the glittering coins from the bag onto the floor of the captain's stateroom. Several other men spread their coins about, amounting to an estimated several hundred thousand dollars' worth. Two ladies threw a further $10,000 worth of $20 gold pieces on the floor, but no one cared. Purses containing in some instances thousands of dollars in gold coins were left untouched on sofas."<BR> It is in this context that the Columbus-America Discovery Group, formed to seek the ship's grave and recover its treasure, undertook the monumental recovery of gold coins and other artifacts. The ship was rediscovered on September 11, 1987--almost exactly 130 years after the sea swallowed up the <I>Central America</B></I>. <BR> From the briny ocean depths, the 1857-S double eagle was the single issue most often found, to the extent of several thousand pieces, judging from the NGC/PCGS population data. But among all of those pieces and others recovered from the shipwreck of the <I>S.S. Republic,</B></I> there are only five examples of the 1857-S certified MS67 at NGC, with 11 pieces so graded at PCGS (12/07).<BR> The present coin is of the Spiked Shield variety, the most commonly found of the many different 1857-S variants constituting the <I>Central America</B></I> horde--but of course, in such an uncommon grade, this piece in essence becomes the ideal, tied-for-finest type coin to represent the fabled shipwreck and its equally legendary legacy. What first strikes the viewer is the roiling, swirling cartwheel luster present on the canary-yellow surfaces, which show a truly remarkable lack of abrasions of any size. Next one notices the full strike, which has completely delineated all the star centrils, the tiny individual strands of Liberty's hair, and all of the eagle's feathers. Of course, all of those individual attributes add up to enormous and memorable eye appeal, the most elusive numismatic criterion, but one that is present in spades on such a phenomenal treasure coin. <BR> Lastly, it must also be noted that this amazing coin is <I>among the finest Type One double eagles of any date, </B></I>as NGC and PCGS combined have certified only 16 pieces of the type in MS67.<BR> The current <I>Coin Dealer Newsletter </B></I>Bid price for the 1857-S is $90,250. Census: 5 in 67 (all varieties), 0 finer (12/07).<BR><BR><B>Coin Engraver:</B> James B. Longacre<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>
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