According to an article from the Associated Press, an anonymous buyer has paid more than $30 million for a collection of rare U.S. Prototype coins, some from the 1700s, that never went into circulation, according to Laura Sperber, a partner in Legend Numismatics, who brokered the deal. The collection consists of around 1,000 coins that collectors refer to as pattern coins. They all have trial designs on them that never went into production because the U.S. Mint chose others. Gathering such a large collection of pattern coins is difficult because so few were created in the first place, and they were usually supposed to stay in the possession of the Mint, since they were, after all, the rejects. It took the seller about ten years to assemble the coin collection, which spans the period from 1792 to 1942. Highlights of the collection include test designs for the first pennies made in 1792 and six coins from 1872 that are often referred to as “Amazonian” patterns because the female figure portraying liberty is much stronger and regal looking than in earlier versions.
Until 1909, when Abraham Lincoln's face was immortalized on the penny, presidents weren't allowed on coins because, at the time, putting the nation's leader on a coin seemed too similar to the practice of kings being displayed on European coins. “To put an individual on coinage was considered very unrepublican because the people have the power in a republic,” said Douglas A. Mudd, Curator of the American Numismatic Association Money Museum. That wasn't considered the best example for a country less than a decade removed from the Revolutionary War. For more information, check out the original article.
Perhaps the new buyer, who preferred to be referred to as Mr. Simpson for security reasons, will post his new collection to iTaggit and let us help him organize his valuable pieces. 'Til then, be sure to post your coin collection to our gallery, and if you need help with appraisal estimates, enter them into our “What's My Item Worth” collection.