POGUE II: THE RARE COIN MARKET ROARS

On Wednesday evening, Stack’s Bowers, in a limited partnership with Sotheby’s, offered the second grouping of coins from the D. Brent Pogue family collection.

The second sale featured 105 lots and focused most of its attention on Capped Bust half dollars, Flowing Hair dollars, Capped Bust and Classic Head quarter eagles, and Capped Bust half eagles and eagles.

Headlining the sale was the 1794 “Lord St. Oswald” Flowing Hair dollar (PCGS MS66+), which brought US$4,993,750 after spirited bidding. Laura Sperber of Legend Numismatics was the winning bidder. In addition to the 1794 $1, Pogue’s 1795 “13 Leaves” eagle (PCGS MS66+) cleared the $2 million mark, bringing $2,585,000. Rounding out the second sale’s million dollar coins were the “King Farouk” 1795 “Small Eagle” half eagle (PCGS AU55; $1,175,000) and the “9 Leaves Reverse” 1795 eagle (PCGS MS63+; $1,057,500).

In total, the sale brought $26,120,837.50, which is $808,106.25 more than Pogue I. That sale boasted 128 lots (granted 31 of them were half dimes – and one was a half disme).

At 26+ million, Pogue II exceeded Stack’s Bowers wildest expectations. Pre-sale estimates valued the offerings at between $14.1 million and $20.7 million dollars. At 26+ million, Pogue II bested the high estimate by almost $5.5 million dollars.

After two sales, the Pogue’s have realized $51,433,567.75 for their collection, which Stack’s Bowers estimates to have a value of $250 million.

What is the Pogue Collection?

For those new to numismatics, know that the collection of coins assembled by billionaire Texas real estate moguls D. Brent and Mack Pogue rates as one of the most significant and expensive U.S. coin collections ever assembled.

The majority of the collection spans the first 40 years of U.S. federal coinage, including many of the country’s greatest rarities. In addition to that, many of the coins in the collection are the finest specimens known.

The combination of rarity and quality makes the public offering of these coins significant, not only to individual collectors, for whom this might be the only opportunity in their lives to own these particular coins, but also for the hobby as a whole, as the high profile of the sale transcends numismatics, garnering significant attention in the mainstream press. It’s this type of coverage that helps to legitimize the investment potential of coins and draws new collectors to the “Hobby of Kings”.

But more than that, sales like this are a celebration of the coins themselves. Each coin in the collection has its own story to tell. Q. David Bowers will tell that story in his forthcoming book The D. Brent Pogue Collection of American Coinage: The Definitive Sylloge. Information about Bowers’ “Top 100” can be found in his i>Treasures from the D. Brent Pogue Rare Coin Cabinet (2015).

To read the complete article, see:
Pogue II: Rare Coin Market Roars; a Look at the Numbers (www.coinweek.com/auctions-news/pogue-ii-rare-coin-market-roars-a-look-at-the-numbers/)

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