PCGS Around the World

Auction Highlights

By Jaime Hernandez

The year 2022 has been very active so far in the coin and banknote market, which is seeing strong prices across the board. One of the biggest issues in the marketplace today seems to be the relative lack of available nice and fresh coins, which then results in stronger prices for most material. There are so many illustrious coins and banknotes trading hands, that it can be challenging to highlight just a few items from recent auctions, but after careful review, these are some of the most compelling items that that caught our attention. 1943 Bronze Lincoln Cent, PCGS AU50BN

The 1943 Philadelphia Bronze Lincoln Cent is one of the most iconic coins in numismatics, since these rare transitional errors receive much publicity and are sought after by collectors. All regular-issue 1943 Lincoln Cents are supposed to have been made with zinc-coated steel planchets. However, it is believed that perhaps a couple dozen bronze planchets leftover from 1942 remained in the Philadelphia Mint machinery, resulting in the inadvertent production of 1943 Lincoln Cents struck in bronze.

These errors turn many heads when they cross the auction block, as was the case on January 30, 2022, when a 1943 Bronze Lincoln Cent hailing from the Philadelphia Mint was offered by GreatCollections. Graded by PCGS AU50BN, this piece realized a total of $250,875. 1886-O Morgan Dollar, PCGS MS65 The 1886-O Morgan Dollar is not a scarce coin in lower circulated grades by any means. However, it is very rare in MS65 or higher. In fact, it is one of the rarest issues from the New Orleans Mint in that grade range. Comparing the mintage of a common 1880-S Morgan Dollar, with an original output of 8,900,000 versus the mintage of an 1886O Morgan Dollar, standing at 10,710,000, we see the 1886-O had a significantly higher mintage. Yet, we have graded over 39,000 examples of the 1880-S in MS65 versus only three specimens of the 1886-O at that same grade.

One of the main reasons the 1886-O Morgan Dollar is scarce in higher uncirculated grades is that New Orleans Mint officials may have been more concerned with quantity rather than quality, spacing the dies farther apart from each other to try and preserve them so that more coins could be struck. It is also believed that many examples of the 1886-O Morgan Dollar were melted over the years. With only three examples in PCGS MS65 and one lone specimen graded PCGS MS65+, this issue is quite rare in high grades. Equate this with the tremendous demand for Morgan Dollars and that translates to very strong prices for the scarcest coins in the series. On February 24, 2022, a PCGS MS65 specimen of this prized conditional rarity sold for $156,000 at Heritage Auctions. 1928 $500 Federal Reser ve Banknote, PCGS Superb Gem Uncirculated-67PPQ

This well-preserved and attractive 1928 $500 Federal Reserve Banknote from Chicago is a true treasure. The $500 Banknotes are scarce in uncirculated condition and even scarcer in unaltered or undamaged higher certified grades.

Recently a high-quality example of this rarity from Chicago with the reference FR-2200-G and bearing the signatures Woods and Mellon was offered at auction by Stack’s Bowers Galleries in November 2021. Graded PCGS Superb Gem Uncirculated-67 PPQ, this example realized $31,200, which is a strong price for a $500 Banknote. This is a good reminder that nice, quality banknotes are in high demand and continue to command robust prices.

Jaime Hernandez is an editor for the PCGS Price Guide and has been a proud member of the PCGS team since 2005. By the time he reached his early 20s, Jaime was successfully buying and selling coins with some of the most prominent dealers and collectors in the country. Email: jhernandez@collectors.com

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