The Sensational Coins of the James A. Millholland Collection

By Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez

Some of the most distinctive cabinets ever sold were those that passed on down through the generations, often spending decades in the same family before seeing the light of the auction floor. Some of these notable collections bear surnames such as Garrett, Norweb, and Pogue. Joining this list is the James A. Millholland Collection, pedigreed to a 19th-century railroad executive who was an avid collector and acquired resplendent specimens of coins ranging from half cents through silver dollars.

Millholland’s collection is a product of its time, with the inclusion of many Philadelphia specimens that represent the numismatic sensibilities of an era when few collectors were seeking branch-mint coinage for their cabinets. The coins were nestled in a small homemade coin cabinet containing wooden trays with square openings of various sizes to house different denominations. His personal records show that he bought his coins from some of the most prominent dealers of the day, including Scott and Co., Haseltine, A.M. Smith, Mason & Co., and S.H. & H. Chapman.

James A. Millholland, seen here in a portrait and riding in a car, was a railroad executive who loved collecting coins. Courtesy of Stack’s Bowers Galleries.

The custom-made coin cabinet of James A. Millholland housed an extraordinary collection and is as much a treasure as the coins it contained. Courtesy of Stack’s Bowers Galleries.

A true time capsule of a bygone era in American numismatics, Millholland’s personal record book also contained many hallmarks of the late-19th-century era during which the collection was mostly assembled. His handwritten coin inventory included references to “Bland Silver Dollars,” a largely forgotten term for the Morgan Dollar – born of a legislative bill introduced to Congress by Missouri Representative Richard P. Bland. His collection also embraces a range of pieces bearing date or legend varieties, such as the 1814 and 1814/3 Capped Bust Half Dollars and all three major varieties of 1834 Capped Bust Half Dollars.

Among the proofs emerges a remarkable 1865 Liberty Seated Dollar that PCGS recently graded PR66+. This immaculate gem, which ranks as a Stack’s Bowers Galleries staff favorite, is profiled in much greater detail in the PCGS Coin of the Issue article seen on page 55.

The collection is representative of proofs and business strikes, with some pieces on the modest end of the circulated spectrum and others vibrantly uncirculated. The proofs, which Millholland may have bought directly from the Philadelphia Mint, exhibit spectacular toning influenced by their surroundings in their custom-made wooden coin cabinet.

James A. Millholland kept this handwritten inventory of his coin collection. Courtesy of Stack’s Bowers Galleries.

became less active in the hobby after 1894, though he lived until 1911. His collection was passed on down through many generations of his family and spent decades in a safe-deposit box. After the family contacted Stack’s Bowers Galleries, the auction house went right to work in evaluating and cataloging the collection and its numerous treasures – some of which had never before been offered in the secondary market.

Awaiting its first new owners in more than a century, the James A. Millholland Collection offers collectors a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to acquire coins that were lovingly curated by a true 19th-century student of numismatics. A feature of the Stack’s Bowers Galleries March 2023 Official Auction of the Whitman Spring Expo, the collection of more than 550 copper, nickel, and silver coins will cater to diverse collectors ranging from those on modest budgets to PCGS Set Registry specialists.

Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez has won multiple awards from the NLG and ANA for his work as a numismatic journalist and editor. He has been a coin collector since 1992 and enjoys all areas of United States coinage and U.S. minting history.