Todd of BluCC Photos took images recently at Baltimore of some of my best Walkers. As usual, his work is great (thanks, Todd!). Which of these two do you prefer? The 19-S or the 27-S? Why? I'll weigh in later. First, the 19-S: And the 27-S: All comments appreciated.
19s Strike looks better and it's just great! 27s plus I dont like the lack of toning in that little stripe in front of liberty's face.
:bigeyes: Very impressive coins Breakdown! I would go with the '19-S, the strike looks slightly sharper and the luster looks stronger. Amazing coin :bow:.
What does the Charles Schultz note on the slab signify? If its a provenance, then the 1919 no question.
I like the 19 as well. No question, it's a bit nicer coin IMHO. Most WLHs prior to 1920 show less detail in the skirt lines. This one looks great! As an aside - Charles Schultz was the author and artist of the classic Peanuts comic strip. Our family had a very strong connection to that strip and its characters. I would buy the coin for that reason alone. and yes Ardatirion, it is a provenance.
Thanks for the comments so far -- interesting results. Mike, one thing to clarify, is the 19-S was in the Walker collection of Charles Schultz, a Chicago banker who is not Charles Schulz (different spelling) the Peanuts comic strip creator. Schultz's Walker collection was quite impressive but even more important is that this coin was in the GBW collection before Schultz's. The GBW collection may be the finest Walker set ever assembled. You can read about the GBW and Schultz sets in the All-Time section of the PCGS Registry for Walkers.
Looks like the 19-S would have won by quite a bit if I had made this a poll. But I would have voted for the 27-S. The 19-S has a great strike, amazing luster and very few marks. The 19-S is no doubt a technically higher grade. Both coins are pretty rare at MS66 but despite pop reports otherwise, I think the 19-S is rarer (I suspect there are a lot of resubmissions in MS66 for the 19-S). My support for this: check CoinFacts for auction records for a PCGS MS66 19-S. There is one such record. Having said all that, the multi-hued toning of the 27-S is a great look and one of my favorites. The strike, though weaker than the 19-S, is excellent for this issue. It also has a better matching reverse. The pedigree of the 19-S will probably make it worth more if and when I sell these coins (heaven forbid) but that has little to do with which coin I like better personally. Thanks to all for the comments -- always learn something doing this and I enjoy sharing Todd's amazing photos. :thumb:
That is very, very, very surprising. IMO, the 19-S is better in every respect. The strike is sharper, the luster is undoubtedly stronger, the surfaces appear cleaner in the photos, and the toning has shades of pink which I find very appealing on a lustrous walker. The 27-S is a coin that I can envision a Heritage cataloger describing as a wholly original premium gem with variegated bronze and honey gold patina. For those who are unaware, calling a coin wholly original is akin to saying a girl has a nice personality.
Paul You compare my 27-S to a girl with a nice personality?!? That was worth a good laugh and shows to each his own when it comes to eye appeal. As I said, the 19-S is certainly a higher technical grade but you may not be able to fully appreciate the toning on the 27-S from the image, which has a good amount of blue and even some pink. I must admit the 19-S is more photogenic, at least when Todd is taking the photos. Ah, but it has a nice personality too!:thumb: