Belle Collection of Carson City Coins Realizes Disappointing Results in Heritage Sale

Click on the link below to view the prices realized for the sale of the Belle collection of Carson City coins. Heritage conducted the auction in Baltimore on March 28 and 29, 2009.

Please note: after you click this link, you'll go to mediafire.com and you'll have to deal with a couple annoying pop-ups. Just select the Belle Collection link, the "Click here to start download" link, and then click on "Open file." You'll need an Adobe Acrobat reader (always free) to view these pdf files (you can easily close the advertizing pop-ups).

Belle Collection of CC Coins

Unfortunately, the owner of this collection didn't exercise discretion in the selection of many of the coins. Thus, many of the coins were sub-par for their grades. Moreover, the collector assembled the set in haste, over a short period of time, and for whatever reason, decided to sell after owning most of the coins for less than six months. This usually results in disappointing returns. It didn't help that the collection was sold in the midst of a severe recession.

As you'll see, most of the prices are low in comparison to the rarity and desirability of the coins. This provided a great buying opportunity in many cases for shrewd collectors.

Probably the most disappointing news to the owner of this 56-piece group of coins was that the two classic rarities in the collection, the 1876-CC 20-center in NGC MS-64, and the 1870-CC $20 gold piece in NGC XF-45, didn't sell (they failed to meet their reserves).

I'm sure that this whole experience was a bitter pill for the owner of the Belle collection to swallow: and hopefully was a valuable lesson as well.

1874-CC 10c AU 55 PCGS

With cool and calm Rusty on the phone doing the bidding at the January 14, Stack's "Americana" auction, I was thrilled and very fortunate to acquire the 1874-CC AU 55 PCGS dime which had recently returned to the US from Europe. The coin is original in every way and is amazingly free of abrasions. I plan to share more about the coin with my C4OA members in the next issue of Curry's Chronicle.

But for now, I would like to tap the very considerable experience found amongst the club members. The subject 1874-CC dime displays the rough or porous surfaces, a relatively common characteristic of Carson City dimes. The most common theory for the cause of the pourous surface is die rust or decay due to conditions inside the mint building at the time.

Does anyone have any other ideas as to what could have caused this on some Carson City coins and not on others? Conversely, does anyone have definitive information that would verify the die rust or decay theory? Any and all opinions or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks...Belay Off

1876-CC twenty cent piece up for auction

This one is NGC MS-64. It is included in the Heritage Baltimore auction and is part of the Belle Collection of Carson City Coinage.

http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=1126&Lot_No=983&type=collect-coinnews-tem030609&ic=


Here is the list of the Belle Collection:

http://coins.ha.com/common/search_results.php?N=51+793+794+791+1577+4294956929+4294956294&type=collect-coinnews-tem030609

Thanks for the heads up, Maya!

Curry's Chronicle Spring Edition - cover to cover

The spring edition was terrific. As a "hungry for knowledge" Carson City coin collector who is north of beginner and south of intermediate, Curry's Chronicle is an absolute oasis in both amount and breadth of information. For me, one of the most important aspects of the publication is that even the most experienced and sophisticate contributors write their articles so that all the members, not just the old grizzled pros, can appreciate what is being shared.

Thanks C4OA !

Belay Off

Spring 2009 Curry’s Chronicle is in the Mail!

Now, I know that after my last post, some of you were a bit worried about why your issue hadn’t reached you yet. Fear not. As of today (2-25-09), the spring 2009 issue of C4OA’s Curry’s Chronicle is in the mail!

Here’s the thing: whenever I post a blog about the Chronicle being at the printers, that only means that we’re in the final stages of production, not that it’s getting mailed out that day. We still have to receive proof copies, make lots of corrections, and comb through every page of the journal before we give the printers the go-ahead to mail them out. Sometimes this can take a week, and sometimes it takes several weeks.

Keeping that in mind, our deadline for mailing out the spring edition of Curry’s Chronicle is March 1st, so don’t fret if we’re still in February and you haven’t received your copy—it’s on its way!

Thankfully, this issue of the journal is now in the hands of the U.S. Post Office (in Minnesota), and hopefully (fingers crossed), its carriers will deliver your dose of “CC” literature in a careful, speedy manner.

If you have questions or comments, or if your quarterly hasn’t reached you by April Fool’s Day, let us know by contacting me (Maya) at mariesgate@sbcglobal.net, or by mailing a note to me at 5032 S. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89502. Also, calls are welcome at (775) 322-4455.

I hope you enjoy this latest issue of Curry’s Chronicle, and that you have a very wonderful last-month-of-winter!

-Maya

PS: If you just can't wait to sneak-a-peek at the upcoming issue, I have posted a list of the spring 2009 Curry's Chronicle articles in the Table of Contents section in the right-hand column. Scroll down, and don't feel bad for drooling!

Spring 2009 Curry's Chronicle is at the Printers!

My wonderful C4OAers,

Well, there may be some snow on the ground, but that isn’t stopping this club from launching off its next quarterly to the printer. Yes, that means that our little journal is working its way from mere digital files into the beautiful literary work of art known only as Curry’s Chronicle.

Behind the scenes, everyone at C4OA has been working diligently to make sure this Chronicle astounds anyone who picks it up. It’s jammed with a wide variety of interesting articles, letters to the editor, detailed pictures, and yes, even another famous word search puzzle. Although the contents are strictly top-secret at the moment, I can assure you that this season’s edition will not disappoint you.

I hope everyone in C4OA’s cyber-land is doing well, and is enjoying the end of the winter season. Do keep in mind that if you have not contributed an article or a letter to the editor, you should make the effort and become the “newest sensation” in the summer 2009 issue. Join in on the fun!

With great anticipation,

-Maya

1873-CC Trade dollar

Just as an FYI for Jim Sneddon or anyone else who collects and researches trade dollars. Harlan Berk's in Chicago has an 1873-CC, described as Wide CC; 3/3. AU50 cleaned.

http://www.harlanjberk.com/unitedstatesco/details.asp?inventorynumber=38798&title=Trade+Dollar&inventorygroup=us&linenum=2

Two Reverses for 1877-CC Dimes

In answer to the Drummer's question below, here are images of the two different reverse varieties of the 1877-CC dime---just follow the arrows.

Type Ones are scarcer than Type Twos, but both are considered common varieties.

"CC" DIME VARIETY HELP

I need a little help and I figured that someone from our C4OA might have the information I'm looking for. I am the owner of a nice 1877-CC seated dime (NGC MS-66) and I understand that there are two types of reverse dies for this date. I don't know which reverse type my example is. Can anyone explain to me how to identify the Type I and Type II reverses. Thanks for any and all help.