LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 (ANA) Signature Coin Auction #444  / 

2097

1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Round MS63

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:60,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Round MS63
<B>1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Round MS63 NGC.</B></I> The main reason for the scarcity of the Pan-Pac fifties is the expense of each at the time of issue. The price was twice face value, or $100 per coin. In the 21st century, with Americans used to high prices, it is easy to forget what a dollar bought at the time of the Panama-Pacific Exposition. The average annual income in 1915 was $1,267. A new car, for those who had one, cost an average of just $390. A house could be bought for $3,395. An ounce of gold was still $20.67.<BR> What did it cost to visit the fair? Rooms in San Francisco averaged $1 each per day ($1.50 if you wanted a bath in your room). A day’s ample food would be another dollar. Some of the concessions charged as much as 50c admission, but these could be avoided, and there was plenty to do and see cheaply. The Union Pacific Railroad’s guidebook estimated that a full week of fun and lodging at the fair would cost about $20 per person. Is it any wonder that these pieces are so scarce today?<BR> The Pan-Pac Round, while perhaps less novel than its octagonal counterpart, is certainly scarcer, both in absolute as well as conditional terms. This is a pleasing example whose grade is only limited by what can be seen with a magnifier. The satiny mint luster is bright orange-gold in color. When a magnifier is applied, the only surface flaws one readily notices are a tiny planchet flaw on the helmet, and a shallow mark across the breast of the eagle. <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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