Stewart Blay Collection Nears $5M

In November, the Stewart Blay Collection continues to break records at GreatCollections by bringing in nearly $5 million in final bids for the greatest sets of Flying Eagle cents, Indian cents, and Barber dimes that have ever been assembled.

Both the 12th and 19th of November saw the coins being auctioned at GreatCollections. Among the most notable realizations are the 1856 Flying Eagle cent graded PCGS MS-66, which sold for $343,125; the 1877 Indian Cent certified PCGS MS-66+RD, which sold for $340,875, and the 1893-O Barber dime graded PCGS MS-68PL, which sold for $140,625.

$123,750 was the price that was paid for a duplicate 1955 double-die Lincoln cent that was rated PCGS MS-65RD. In terms of both the date and the grade, each of these achieved first-ever world records. The previous record, which had been established in 2001, was more than doubled by the MS-65RD 1955 doubled die.

There were a total of 16,645 bids placed for the 673 graded coins that were up for auction, which resulted in a total of $4,960,436 being realized.

Over the course of the past half-century, the renowned numismatist and sculptor Stewart Blay, who passed away recently, was responsible for putting together the collections that have won numerous awards. GreatCollections held an auction earlier this year for the Blay Lincoln Cent Collection, which resulted in a price of more than $7.7 million and also established a number of world records.

"Serious collectors came out of the woodwork to bid and own a part of the Stewart Blay Collection," said Ian Russell, president of GreatCollections. "Several of them had not acquired a coin in years, as nothing of this quality had been on the market," he said. "All of the coins in the collection were of the highest quality

"The values that were reached are evidence that the numismatic community was in agreement with the exceptional quality that Stewart had accumulated over the course of his lifetime. The pedigree is one that will last the test of time; it is maybe the one that is held in the highest regard by numismatists of the current generation.

"Unfortunately, Stewart passed away suddenly during the Thanksgiving holiday last year," Ian said. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Stewart and his estate for entrusting us with this collection that cannot be found anywhere else.

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