ALL-STAR RARITIES LINEUP

Dreams for Every Collector and Investor

- GREG REYNOLDS

In the realm of classic U.S. coins, famous rarities capture the imagination and stimulate the dreams of collectors, dealers, and those who like to learn about coins. Famous rarities are prime topics of current conversations and significant parts of the history of coin collecting. Moreover, they receive a great deal of coverage in the general news media. A remarkable number of famous rarities, including some of the greatest, have been or will be auctioned in late 2020 and 2021.

In November and probably in December 2020, Stack’s Bowers will auction rarities from the late Larry H. Miller collection. During the summer, it was announced by Heritage that most of the tremendous collection formed by Bob Simpson was scheduled to be auctioned in six events starting in September 2020 in Dallas and ending in August 2021 at the ANA Convention near Chicago. It was also announced that the collection of Donald G. Patrick would be sold by Heritage starting in October 2020 with three separate sales, followed by most of the collection presented in multiple auctions during the first six months of 2021.

Very famous rarities in the Patrick Collection will be auctioned in January and in April 2021. The most famous coin in the Patrick Collection is a Brasher Doubloon. This coin has been ‘off the market’ since Patrick acquired it, possibly through an agent, at the Garrett I sale in November 1979 for $725,000. Did that auction price set a record for a coin or coin-related item?