At the March 2021 Las Vegas Auction by Stack's Bowers Galleries, the best half eagle believed to exist from 1822 set a new world record with a price of $8.4 million.
This vintage $5 coin from the D. Brent Pogue Collection was offered for sale on March 25th during the firm's Rarities Night event; PCGS graded it AU-50. It has surpassed the greatest amounts paid for a 1913 Liberty nickel, 1804 silver dollar, or 1933 double eagle, and is now the most valuable U.S. Mint gold coin ever sold at auction.
An entire set of United States coins would be incomplete without the renowned 1822 half eagle. Only three specimens have been identified thus far, with two of those permanently housed in the Smithsonian Institution's National Numismatic Collection.
You have a once in a lifetime chance to own this issue with the Pogue-Eliasberg specimen offered by Stack's Bowers Galleries. It is the only sample in private hands. The vast majority of American numismatic history's notable personalities never owned one, and countless more have passed away without ever having the opportunity to bid on one at auction.
Only twice in American numismatic history had an 1822 half eagle been sold at auction before the Stack's Bowers Galleries sale: once in the 1906 Harlan P. Smith Collection Sale and again in 1982 as part of the Louis E. Eliasberg Gold Coin Collection.
When the Lilly Collection of priceless gold coins was presented to, the Smith specimen was also included. The second piece in the Smithsonian is believed to have originated in the Mint Cabinet Collection and has been housed there since the 1830s.
From its acquisition by Virgil Brand in 1899 until its sale by his heirs in 1945, the About Uncirculated Pogue Specimen was housed in Brand's extensive collection. Then it became part of the one and only comprehensive collection of United States coins ever assembled when it went into the unrivaled cabinet of Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. In 1982, during an auction of the Eliasberg Collection's gold coins, a young D.
Brent Pogue became the proud owner of the most valuable numismatic collection ever assembled. Since then, his cabinet has fetched over $140 million in auctions held by Stack's Bowers Galleries between 2015 and 2021.
The Pogue 1822 half eagle, which for $8.4 million, is now displayed with honor in a stately new case. Over the course of more than 115 years, it had only graced the shelves of three private collectors; now, a fourth collector has joined the exclusive club. Even the wealthiest museums, collectors, and dealers may have to wait generations before they can acquire this issue again.
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