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1915-S Panama-Pacific Gold $50 Octagonal NGC MS67

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:100.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1915-S Panama-Pacific Gold $50 Octagonal NGC MS67
<b>1915-S Panama-Pacific Gold &#36;50 Octagonal. NGC graded MS67.</b> NGC Pop: 3/0. Tied for finest certified. A problem-free coin with simply fantastic luster racing over the surface, vivid and gold in appearance. What&#39;s more, the fields acquit themselves nicely in terms of the fewness of marks, there being none whatsoever. A blunt impression is never in the cards on a Pan-Pacific &#36;50 gold coin for the simple reason that the mint saw to it that they were all perfectly made. The impression left by the recoil of the dies that struck this year&#39;s coinage shows every intricate detail in the design. Recall that the press that was shipped by train from Philadelphia to strike these could propel the dies into the planchets with a striking force of 450 tons to the square inch That is why this issue is so impressive.

There were actually 1,509 of the octagonal &#36;50 pieces made, of which nine were used for assay, 646 were eventually sold and 854 went to the melting pot. There were 1,510 round &#36;50 pieces including 10 for assay. Just 483 were sold. 1,017 were melted.

Hard as it may seem at this distance in time, there were many criticisms of these designs most of them irrelevant, based on total misreading of the iconography. Treasury Secretary William G. McAdoo began it &#40;at the behest of Assistant Secretary William Malburn&#41; with claims that Pallas Athena meant nothing on a U.S. coin unless she could be identified with liberty, and that Athena&#39;s owl would never mean anything at all to us. Others sneered that the coin designs either ignored the Panama Canal or implied that the Canal was built for the convenience of dolphins. In actuality, the choice of Athena &#40;the Roman Minerva&#41; was an obvious bow to the cultural and educational aspects of the Exposition; her owl is an obvious symbol for watchfulness, something especially appropriate during the early years of World War I when the United States populace nervously worried about possible hostile action from Germany and being abruptly forced into war; the pine branch alludes to some of California&#39;s most majestic trees and indirectly to the lumber and paper industries dependent on them; and dolphins are the friendly companions of many boats en route to or from the Canal.

TIED FOR FINEST CERTIFIED 1915-S PAN-PACIFIC &#36;50 OCTAGONAL <b>&#40;PCGS # 7452&#41;</b> <i>
The Good River Collection.</i>

Our item number 123704