From Coin World newsletter this morning: http://www.coinworld.com/news/us-co...ection-realizes-nearly-5-million-dollars.html
This is a very strong price. I like this coin better than the Contursi specimen that sold for $10mil. While they claimed that one was a presentation/specimen piece, the adjustment marks made that hard to believe. This one doesn't have as prominent a plethora of adjustment marks, and the provenance is extremely interesting.
Not the loveliest coin in the world, but I can certainly appreciate why someone with the necessary scratch to buy it would be interested - not only for its historical significance, but its unbroken provenance. A hearty congratulations to the new owner, whoever he or she may be.
Well I don't care for the adjustment marks on the Contursi specimen, but it was clearly made as a presentation piece. I've seen it in hand and it convinced me of this, it truly looks like a modern proof. I wish there were some better images of the coin that better captures the quality.
You can get a bigger better image, but it's not intuitive. Click on the coin in the CW newsletter. From the smallish image, go to the right and click on the double obv/rev image (now in a red box). When it's on the screen, RIGHT click and select "View Image," the first choice (at the top). It will show up the size of a dinner plate.
PhysicsFan: << While they claimed that one was a presentation/specimen piece, the adjustment marks made that hard to believe. Kirkuleez: <<Well I don't care for the adjustment marks on the Contursi specimen, but it was clearly made as a presentation piece. I've seen it in hand and it convinced me of this, it truly looks like a modern Proof.>> I am sure that Steve appreciates the naming of this 1794 as the "Contursi specimen," by participants in this thread. Contursi did own it for nearly seven years. It is usually called the Carter 1794 dollar. It might be fair to refer to it as the Carter-Lustig-Knoxville-Contursi-Cardinal-Morelan coin. Ed Milas and Marvin B. sold it to Andy Lustig in 1988. Jay Parrino was the buyer for the Carter 1794 when Andy's type set was auctioned by Superior in May 1991. In all seriousness, there is no one who is more familiar with this coin than me. I remember when Andy Lustig owned it, who I know well. I thank Steve Contursi for allowing me to spend much time examining it on more than one occasion. Further, the staff at Stack's-Bowers was very cooperative when I viewed the Carter-Contursi 1794 again in January 2013. I have used high magnification to inspect this coin on more than one occasion. All 1794 dollars have adjustment marks, as far as I know. It does not qualify as a true Proof and does not look like modern Proofs. 3. The Carter-Contursi 1794 is definitely not a business strike. The Hayes-Pogue 1794 is definitely a business strike; there is no doubt about it! I have provided a detailed explanation as to why the Carter-Contursi-Morelan 1794 is much different from business strikes. It is not practical to explain all of the reasons in posts to a thread. Please Click to read: Incredible Carter 1794 silver dollar
The coin market has gone the way of the art market... wow... Yikes - I just realized that the original post is nearly a year old... whoops...
