Dimes

Certifi ed Coins:GreatCollections welcomes coins graded by PCGS, NGC (NCS) and ANACS. Please remove all labels/stickers adhered to holders. Raw Coins: If your coins are not graded, please use our Raw Coin Consignment Form. GreatCollections extends our discounted rates for coin grading directly to members. Insurance: From the moment your coins arrive at GreatCollections, they are covered by our extensive insurance policy with Lloyd’s of London... another benefi t provided to all consignors at no cost. Values: If you are unsure of coin values, please leave this fi eld blank. We review all coins that are consigned and will assign values and minimum bids accordingly. Listing Fees: Our listing fees are based on the following schedule and are charged the fi rst time the coin is listed at GreatCollections. Minimum Bid Listing Fee $1-$99 $3 $100-$999 $5 $1,000 and up $10 Up to Five Listings for One Fee: For one listing fee, GreatCollections will relist any coin that doesn’t sell, up to a maximum of fi ve times without any additional listing fees. If you do not want your coins relisted, please let us know under “Special Instructions” on the reverse of this form. Cash Advances: We offer generous cash advances for all consignments at a competitive interest rate. Checks can be sent via overnight Fedex or Express Mail within 24 hours of your coins arriving at GreatCollections. Please check the box on the reverse of this form (below the signature line) and we will contact you as soon as we have reviewed your coins. Timing and Scheduling: Coins are generally listed on our website within 7-21 days of arriving at GreatCollections. If you consign duplicates of the same year, denomination, grade and grading service, we will typically split the coins over multiple days of auctions. Once coins are entered in our system, you can view your coins by logging into MyGC and clicking on “Items Pending” or “Currently Selling”. Currency/Paper Money:GreatCollections also auctions certifi ed currency and paper money graded by PCGS and PMG, together with our exclusive Grade & Auction program offering discounted grading rates. Please use our currency consignment forms. CAC: CAC is a third-party grade verifi er founded by John Albanese that reviews PCGS and NGC-graded coins (excluding moderns). GreatCollections is an authorized submitter and can arrange CAC to review your coins prior to auctioning. The process takes about 10 days. Cost is $15 for coins valued up to $10,000, $30 for coins valued up to $25,000 and $50 for coins valued at over $25,000. Minimum Bids: We offer three convenient ways to set Minimum Bids at GreatCollections. 1. You may select GreatCollections to establish a Minimum Bid based on our knowledge of the coin market. We usually set opening bids at 70% of what we believe the coins are worth in today’s market. This is our recommended option that we have found to generate the most bidding activity while protecting you with a Minimum Bid. 2. You may select a percentage of the Values you have listed on the reverse of this form to use as Minimum Bids. Please check either the 50%, 65% or 80% option. 3. You may select that all coins start at a Minimum Bid of $1. This is recommended for liquid/popular coins and is used regularly by dealers, investors and representatives of estates. Regretfully, we cannot accept consignments where the Minimum Bids are higher than 80% of their listed value. If you have any questions regarding setting Minimum Bids, please call us at 1.800.44.COINS (+1.949.679.4180) or e-mail info@GreatCollections.com. Seller’s Fees: Our Seller’s fees are a low 5% for coins up to $1000, and 0% for coins over $1,000. Consignment Proceeds: Checks are mailed within 30 days of your coin(s) selling. To confi rm the payment date, please login to your account at GreatCollections, click on MyGC and “View Consignor Statements”.

ConsignorTerms & Conditions

1. Consignor agrees that the Auction shall be conducted online by GreatCollections according to the Terms and Conditions published at www.greatcollections.com/terms. This agreement is subject to Arbitration. 2. Consignor warrants that: (1) Consignor is the legal owner of and has full title and interest in the coins/items consigned to GreatCollections; (2) all coins/items consigned to GreatCollections are free and clear of any liens, encumbrances, security interests or contract rights restricting the unconditional right to sell all rights, title and interest in and to such coin/item; and (3) all consigned coins/items are authentic and in respect to certifi ed coins, holders have not been tampered with or resealed. 3. Consignor agrees to pay GreatCollections a Listing Fee for each coins/items offered by Auction and for coins/items sold, a Seller’s Fee. All fees are detailed on the reverse of the Consignment Agreement. 4. In the event that your coins do not sell in their fi rst Auction, GreatCollections agrees to relist coins/items up to four additional times. There will be no Listing Fees charged for these four additional relistings. Should you prefer your coins not to be relisted, please note this in the “Special Instructions” box on the Consignment Form. 5. Consignor acknowledges that the Hammer Price is the fi nal bid price accepted by the Auctioneer. The Hammer Price does not include the Buyer’s Fee, which GreatCollections retains in full. 6. GreatCollections has the right in its sole discretion to reject any Consignment, to cancel any Auction, to postpone or change the date/time of Auction and/or to rescind any sale. GreatCollections also reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel or reject any bidder from bidding, when we believe it is not in the Consignor’s and/or GreatCollections’ best interest. 7. A Consignor is able to list a Minimum Bid on every coin/item consigned, according to the three options listed on the Consignment Form. It is up to the Consignor to verify that the correct Minimum Bids are entered as soon as their coins/items are uploaded to the GreatCollections website. Any corrections should be reported as early as possible before the end of the Auction. This Minimum Bid amount is disclosed on all items/coins listed at GreatCollections. Consignor may not withdraw any coin/item for any reason. 8. If the successful bidder or buyer is in default and GreatCollections is not satisfi ed that the amount due for any particular Consignor’s lot[s] will be paid in full, GreatCollections reserves the right to take one or more of the following actions: (1) declare the sale null and void and return the coins/items to the Consignor; (2) declare the sale null and void and reoffer the coins/items in another Auction; and/or (3) proceed against buyer on behalf of Consignor. In addition, GreatCollections offers a return privilege to Buyers. Should your coin/item be returned, we will cancel the sale and relist your item. In the event that GreatCollections cancels the sale of your coins/items or your coins/ items are returned, all Listing Fees and Seller’s Fees will be refunded to Consignor. 9. If you consign raw coins/items to GreatCollections, we will send your coins/items to a major third party grading service such as PCGS, NGC and/or ANACS. For more information, please refer to the Raw Coin Consignment Form, which can be downloaded at www.greatcollections.com/forms. 10. GreatCollections shall remit to Consignor, within 30 days after the close of the Auction, the net proceeds, which equals the Hammer Price less Seller’s Fees, Listing Fees, Interest for Cash Advances, other monies owed to GreatCollections by Consignor and Cash Advances Principal (in order). In the event the Consignor’s sales do not exceed fees or monies owed to GreatCollections, the Consignor agrees to pay GreatCollections all monies owed within seven days of invoice date. In certain instances, an introductory commission may be paid by GreatCollections to an agent of Consignor for referring the Consignment to GreatCollections. 11. GreatCollections will provide insurance for loss or damage for consigned coins while in the possession of GreatCollections and while any are being shipped back to the Consignor, subject to certain terms and exclusions (such as Earthquake coverage). In the event of an insurance claim, our insurance carrier will pay you the Fair Market Value, less the Seller’s Fees and Buyer’s Fees, based on the total insurance proceeds. This payment to you by the insurance carrier shall completely satisfy our obligations regarding the Consignments under this Agreement. 12. Arbitration. Any claim or dispute arising out of the sale of coins/items by GreatCollections shall be settled by arbitration between the parties in accordance with the rules of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) or if the PNG cannot or will not hear the matter, by the American Arbitration Association (AAA). Any claim must be commenced within three months of the Auction date or Buy Now confi rmation or the claim is waived. 13. This contract is the entire Agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior Agreements. The warranties and representations contained in this Agreement survive the date of execution by each party herein and the performance of all terms and conditions contained in this agreement. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of California.

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Contact Us: GreatCollections Coin Auctions 17500 Red Hill Ave. Suite 160 | Irvine, CA 92614 Phone: 1.800.44.COINS | 1.949.679.4180 Email: info@greatcollections.com | www.GreatCollections.com

A R O U N D T H E W O R L D Shanghai A MAUSOLEUM DOLL AR WITH A PEDIGREE B y Ja y Tur ner

Ph ot o by Rafa e l Ba n h a o n U n s p l a s h

PCGS, the world leader in coin authentication and grading, is recognized as the authority in Chinese coin certifi cation. This achievement is not easy. It requires perseverance, dedication, and top-notch expertise from the graders and staff. The Shanghai offi ce is a hard-won success for Collectors Universe. With each grading event, the diffi culty and demand increases. The staff not only handles increased submission volume, but they also encounter counterfeits, expert alterations, and repairs designed to fool even the best experts. Yet, despite these numismatic adversities, interesting and fantastic pieces are discovered and recognized. This was the case with a certain rare Chinese dollar that was submitted to the Shanghai offi ce in November 2019.

The China Year 16 (1927) Dollar, nicknamed the “Mausoleum Dollar,” is a wellknown and rare commemorative issue for the Republic of China. Listed in every major catalog (Kann-609, L&M-85, WS0130), this coin is a desired piece for Chinese coin collectors. The coin was designed by the engraver Richard Placht, an artist in Vienna who engraved the design from verbal descriptions of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, instead of basing the portrait from a photograph. Not only was the design based off verbal description, but the mausoleum was still under construction at the time it was described to Placht. However, Placht’s design was rejected by the Chinese government for not looking like the beloved Dr. Sun Yat-sen or his mausoleum. Despite the disapproval of the design, 480 pieces were struck at the Nanking Mint.

At the November 2019 PCGS Shanghai grading event, the submission of a Mausoleum Dollar impressed the folks in the grading room. Given the rarity of and demand for authentic Mausoleum Dollars, many fantastic counterfeits have been made of the coin. The piece submitted to the grading room matched authentic diagnostics and had a fantastic story to go with it. The coin was originally purchased in 1959 at Shanghai Public-Private Partnership XinLong Antique & Porcelain for 20 yuan (Ren Min Bi). The owner had kept the coins and receipts from the shop for 60 years before offering the coins for sale. This Mausoleum Dollar was sold in the Beijing ChengXuan Auctions Co. Ltd. 2019 Autumn Auction, under their milled coinage section as Lot 2513 on November 20, 2019. The coin hammered for 345,000 Yuan (Ren Min Bi), the equivalent of nearly $50,000 USD. When the coin initially sold in 1959, the exchange was set at 2.46 yuan to the dollar or approximately $8.13 USD when it was purchased.

The coin was submitted shortly after purchase to PCGS for authentication and grading. The coin had a natural patina that developed on the surface over the years but was hindered by surface hairlines under the toning. Hence, by consensus of the graders, the coin was graded MS61 by PCGS. Currently, PCGS has graded only 35 total Mausoleum Dollars with numerical grades. The fi nest-known example grades MS65. Stack’s Bowers Galleries sold a PCGS MS63 example for $72,000 in August 2019. When the coin was purchased in 1959, counterfeiting issues were rare and easy to detect, and third-party grading and authentication was nonexistent. However, the owner had the foresight of keeping the documentation for the coins, which helped tremendously for their later sale. Today, with the luxury of third-party PCGS certifi cation and the guarantee a PCGS-certifi ed coin offers, the documentation is often discarded and lost. Nevertheless, keeping the original paperwork and documentation from the purchase of the coin proves the coin’s provenance and can still be of vital importance… Or at least make an interesting story!

Jay began collecting coins at the age of 13, when he inherited his uncle’s coin collection. Turner is profi cient in U. S. and World coins, token, and medal variety attribution, grading, and counterfeit detection. In 2017, Turner joined PCGS as a grader specializing in world coins. He is stationed at the PCGS U. S. headquarters and grades on-site for the Shanghai, Hong Kong and Paris offi ces.

C O I N O F T H E M O N T H

B y Joshua McMor ro w - Her nande z 18 5 4 -S $ 5 L IBER T Y HE A D H A L F E AGL E , PCGS AU5 8+

The legendary 1854-S Liberty Head Half Eagle is one of those coins that most collectors can only ever dream about owning. It’s a rarity with an enticing story a classic 19thcentury gold coin struck in San Francisco during the heyday of the California Gold Rush. A total of just 268 were struck, yet only four are known to exist today. Among these four include one that was stolen in 1967 from the Miami home of Willis du Pont and never recovered. Yet another that was discovered by a New England coin collector in 2018. A third specimen had stints in various landmark collections, including those of “Colonel E.H.R. Green” and Josiah K. Lilly, before being donated to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Numismatic Collection in 1968 and is no longer available in the private market.

That leaves one more specimen: the 1854-S Liberty Head Half Eagle once owned by Louis E. Eliasberg, the 20thcentury Baltimore numismatist who built what was the most complete, comprehensive cabinet of United States coins ever assembled. After his passing in 1976, his massive collection was dispersed in a series of auctions held in the 1980s and 1990s. In October 1982, the Eliasberg 1854-S Half Eagle was sold to D. Brent Pogue, son of Dallas developer Mack Pogue, for $187,000. The coin became a cornerstone of the D. Brent Pogue Collection, one of the fi nest collections of coins ever built.

Graded PCGS AU58+, the Eliasberg/Pogue 1854-S Half Eagle is the fi nest-known specimen of this outstanding rarity. It will be offered at the D. Brent Pogue Collection Part VII Sale held by Stack’s Bowers Galleries on March 20, 2020, in the coin’s former hometown of Baltimore. It will be a historic opportunity to own this multi-million-dollar rarity, a coin whose legacy and lore is worthy of entire volumes. Indeed, many numismatic scholars wonder how it is this rarity, which started with a tiny mintage of 268 pieces, could yield but four known survivors.

Perhaps they were distributed in circulation but, through attrition at a time when United States numismatic interest in branch-mint coins was essentially non-existent, were not saved in any number. One popular theory suggests 262 pieces were submitted as the bulk of repayment for a $1,311.92 deposit of gold from banking and express fi rm Adams & Company. The 262 coins, representing $1,310 of that disbursement, could have eventually been conveyed in a single shipment to a foreign government that would have likely melted the coins to be reminted for striking that nation’s currency. This would have left behind six other coins, including the four known pieces, one sent to the mint’s assay offi ce, and the other transferred to United States Mint Director James Ross Snowden.

Conjecture? Yes. But the above speculation paints a realistic scenario for explaining the coin’s excessive rarity today. We may never know the hard facts behind why so few 1854-S Liberty Head Half Eagles exist, but we do know it’s a coin with fantastic mystique. And, for one lucky collector, there is the opportunity to join the exclusive fraternity of numismatists whose legacies will forever be linked to this extraordinary treasure.