Lot 1479
1915-S Panama-Pacific Gold $50 Octagonal. PCGS graded MS-63. In 1915, San Francisco hosted the Panama-Pacific Exposition to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. To commemorate the event, the United States mint struck a variety of coins in silver and gold, including a Half Dollar, Gold Dollar, $2½ Gold, $50 Gold Octagonal, and $50 Gold Round. The coins were sold at the Exposition individually or in a variety of combinations and/or sets. Apart from Patterns and semi-official Territorial gold coins, the United States had never issued a $50 gold piece. Not sure of how many they could sell, Mint officials struck 1,509 Octagonal and 1,510 Round versions. Because of the high cost of the coins and the sets, very few coins actually sold.The Panama-Pacific $50 Octagonal ranks as one of the great numismatic rarities of the Twentieth Century; both the round and octagonal versions are tied for number 26 in Garrett and Guth's 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. (PCGS Pop. 145 in MS-63, with only 134 graded higher, the highest grade being a single MS-66 example. A total of 473 coins in all grades. 11/1/11).
Estimate $50,000 - 75,000.
Realized: $72,500