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1506

1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Octagonal MS62 PCG

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:24,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Octagonal MS62 PCG
<B>1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Octagonal MS62 PCGS.</B></I> Light hairlines (mainly on the obverse) and some small scuffs and abrasions, consistent with the grade assigned by PCGS, are present yet this coin has more than a little visual appeal. Its luster is bright, gleaming on the obverse and more satiny on the reverse. The marks are all small and detract little from the overall presentation of this rare, and elegantly designed piece. Net mintage (most struck during the exposition were not sold but subsequently melted, a real tragedy for future numismatists yet a fact of economic life at the time) was only 645 coins of the type with dolphins "swimming" in the angles of the octagonal design's corners. This charming feature was omitted (due to lack of space) on the slightly rarer Round version. This piece, with eight sharp corners and heavily reeded edges, each set off by the corners, is in fact a throw-back to the famous golden "slugs" of San Francisco's territorial days, when native ore was taken to the Assay Office by local miners, sold and coined (much of it) into Augustus Humbert's famous, heavy gold coins of the United States Assay Office during the halcyon days of the Gold Rush.<BR> The large gold coins made on site during the exposition quickly became symbolic of the things being celebrated by the event itself. The coins' obverse shows off in glory the helmeted Greek goddess Athena (symbol of wisdom and of warfare, as well as of the practical arts): her helmet is similar to those seen on a number of classical coins, but this time it is plumed, with the date 1915 in roman numerals on the top edge of a shield held in front of her torso. Her visage could easily also be interpreted as an image of Liberty itself, the age-old classic symbol of America. On the reverse is yet another allusion to antiquity, the owl of Minerva, which is seen on other classical Greek coins. This owl, however, is decidedly modern--"animated," alive and patiently seated upon a branch that is supposedly surrounded by Ponderosa pinecones, which are native to California. These two designs are identical on both the Round and Octagonal versions of this hefty gold piece, but the 8-sided version reduces the image on each side ever so slightly and adds a border of swimming dolphins on each side, which Walter Breen, after much study, claimed should be viewed as those "friendly companions of boats throughout the continuous water route completed by the Canal." View them as you may, they are clearly a neat addition to the design, giving it a fuller and more dramatic "summation" as symbolic of the engineering and human achievements being celebrated at the 1915 world's fair.<BR> Exquisite in design, massive in weight, impressive today as they were in 1915 to an admiring public, these coins are among the most fascinating and desirable of all U.S. gold pieces. The Mint was authorized to strike 1,500 of each. The price was double face value, or $100 per coin. Their value then simply defied the ability of almost all of the 18,000,000 fair-goers (when the average annual income was $1,267) to obtain one, as indeed it eludes most collectors these days. For those able to afford one, however, this coin remains a keystone of any American collection of numismatic masterpieces--and decidedly among the ultimate symbols of its age, and a work of art. <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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