Q. David Bowers
5. Driefus-Rosenthal Specimen, EF Nicked
• U.S. Mint. (struck c. 1858, edge lettered in the 'mid- 1870s)
• Freed slave and his son, probably just a nice story. (?- 1893)
• W. Julius Driefus, Nos. 3 and 4 South Wharves, Alexandria, VA. Said to have been purchased from the son of a freed slave who had held the coin for over 40 years. Driefus bought the coin in 1893 for $100.00 and sold it to the following in satisfaction for a debt of $500.00. (1893)
• Isaac Rosenthal, 190 Berks St., Philadelphia, of the firm of Joseph Rosenthal's Sons, Philadelphia scrap iron dealer. The following acted as agent in 'the coin's sale by Rosenthal, (1893-1894)
• Philadelphia Mint Superintendent Oliver C. Bosbyshell, who acted as agent in the sale of the coin to the following. The transaction was accompanied by a letter attesting. to the coin's genuineness, signed by Mint Engraver Charles Eo, Barber and Mint Cabinet Curator RA. McClure, 1894. (1894)
•Col. James W. Ellsworth. (1894-1923)
•Wayte Raymond and John Work Garrett (who bought the Ellsworth Collection intact in 1923). Sold. to the following. (1923-1924) .
• Guttag Brothers, agent for the following. (1924) " Farran Zerbe, who added it to his Moneys of the World exhibit. Zerbe exhibit sold to the following in 1929. (1924-1929) ,
• Chase' Manhattan Bank Money Museum. Operated in New York City until 1978, when the expenses involved prompted the Chase Manhattan Bank to close the facility. The coin was given to the following in 1979. (1929"1979)
• American Numismatic Society. (1979 to date) EF, nicked, probably someone's pocket piece. Edge lettering blundered and doubled in places. 0 in date aligned with the second T in STATES.
6. Idler Specimen, Proof-52
• U.S. Mint. (struck c. 1858, edge lettered in the mid-1870s)
• Capt. John W. Haseltine, who was probably the primary sales agent for Class III dollars. Perhaps he kept this specimen for his own use, after having acquired it from the Mint in the mid-1870s.
• Capt.JohnW. Haseltine and Stephen K. Nagy, who acquired coins from the Idler estate in 1907 and publicized them in 1908. (1907-1908)
• Henry O. Granberg. (Another Granberg "1804" dollar, listed as Lot 320 in B. Max Mehl's sale of July 13, 1913, was a fake.) (1908-?)
• Williain Cutler Atwater. (1940)
• William Cutler Atwater estate. (1940; 1946)
• B. Max Mehl's sale of the Atwater Collection, June 11, 1946, Lot 214, $2,875.00. Sold to the following.
• Will W. Neil. (1946-1947)
• B. Max Mehl's sale of the Neil Collection, June 17, 1947, Lot 31, $3,125.00. Sold to the following.
• Edwin Hydeman, York, Pennsylvania. (1947-1972)
• Abe Kosoff's sale of the Edwin Hydeman Collection, March 34, 1961, Lot 994, $29,000.00 (believed to have peen bought back by the consignor or retained by the auctioneer, Abe Kosoff, in partnership with Sol Kaplan). The cataloguer claimed to have turned down an offer of $50,000.00 for the coin made before the sale.
• Reoffered by Abe Kosoff with the Dr. Judd Collection, Lot 45b, Illustrated History of U.S. Coinage, 1962. Fixed prices were quoted to interested parties. Advertised at $100,000 (Numismatist; 1/72 p. 67), but sold for a reported $80,000.00 to the following, amid much publicity in 1972.
• World-Wide Coin Investments, Atlanta, (John Hamrick and Warren Tucker). Sold to the following for a price estimated to be between $110,000.00 and $150,000.00. (1972-1973)
• Bowers and Ruddy Galleries, Inc. First offered for sale in Rare Coin Review No. 19. Priced at $165,000.00. Sold to the following for an undisclosed sum. (1973-1974)
• Continental Coin Galleries. Sold to the following in September 1974 for a reported $200,000.00. (1974)
• Mark Blackburn. Subsequently offered for sale by Continental Coin Galleries at $225,000.00, and rumored to have been shipped to the Swiss Bank Corporation, Zurich.(As a principal of Bowers and Ruddy Galleries in 1974, I recall selling the coin to Continental; the subsequent relationship between Continental and Mark Blackburn, reported here as given by Newman and Bressett in their "25th Anniversary" article, is not otherwise known to me.) (1974-1979)
• Larry Demerer, well-known professional numismatist. Sold for $175,000.00 to the following. (1979)
• Superior Galleries, who bought it on behalf of Jerry Buss, Los Angeles sports team owner. Ira Goldberg, of Superior Galleries, commented as follows:(Letter to the author, July 29, 1992.)"I acquired the Idler 1804 dollar from Larry Demerer and I believe I paid $175,000.00. I sold it to Jerry [Buss] for $200,000.00 and of course, Jerry sold it in his sale of January 1985 as Lot 1337 .... There is an interesting anecdote to this as Jerry and I were sitting in his box watching a Lakers game one night, he turned to me and said he wanted to own the "big three"-the 1804 dollar, the 1913 Liberty nickel and the 1894-S dime. He asked me what I thought it would take to buy all three coins. I wrote down figures of each on a napkin, in fact the napkin had mustard stains from the hot dog I was eating. I believe the numbers were as follows: 1894-S dime $100,000, 1804 dollar $200,000, 1913 nickel $250,000. Jerry took the napkin and he initialed it and told me go get them. That was basically our deal." (1979)
• Jerry Buss. (1979-1985)
• Superior Galleries' sale of the Buss Collection, January 28-30, 1985, Lot 1337, $308,000.00. "Mint State 60+. Restrike (usually catalogued and referred to as a Proof). Well struck, although a trifle weak in the centers, slightly dished and wholly prooflike on both sides. The toning is quite attractive featuring a natural blending of grayish and violet hues turning slightly iridescent, particularly on the reverse." Sold to the following. (1985)
• Aubrey and Adeline Bebee, who sent in on loan to the following in February 1989, and donated it to the following in January 1991. "At the time it was received, the coin carried an appraisal, for insurance purposes, of $500,000. Later, after the sale of the Dexter specimen, we were instructed through a subsequent appraisal to value the piece at $1 million (Letter to the author from Robert W. Hoge, curator ANA Museum, September 11, 1992.) (1985-1991)
• American Numismatic Association Museum, Colorado Springs. (1991 to date) 411 grains. Proof-62 (Grading per Kenneth E. Bressett, communication to the author, August 1992. In 1984 the author graded it as having the sharpness of EF, but struck as a Proof and still retaining Proof surface in the fields. In a communication to the author, September 11, 1992, ANA Museum Curator Robert W. Hoge graded it as Proof.60+).
Rust on eagle's head. Weakly struck at centers. Sharpest edge lettering of any 1804 dollar (per Newman-Bressett). 0 in date aligned with the second T in STATES. Cf. Coin World, 4 2/14/79, p. 1; 1/5/83, p. 57, Sports Illustrated; 6/18/79. The illustration identified as the Idler coin in The Fantastic 1804 Dollar was incorrect; the Adams specimen was shown; the correct photograph appeared in the Atwater sale and all subsequent public offerings.