5
Mar

David Lawrence Rare Coins Acquires “King of Barber Coinage”

Posted by John Brush

While attending the Whitman Coin Expo in Baltimore, Maryland this week, I was lucky enough to be the designated bidder for David Lawrence Rare Coins (DLRC) at the show’s official auction by Bowers and Merena Auctions.

As the auction approached, the finest known 1901-S Barber Quarter was to be offered as lot 737. Graded by PCGS as MS-68, this item is, without question, the nicest known specimen and was described by the Bowers and Merena cataloger as the “King of Barber Coinage”. Thankfully the item was to go off after dinner and I was able to attend the bidding for the coin that DLRC had examined. As the son of the author of the Complete Guide to Barber Quarters, John Feigenbaum was intrigued by the piece and thought that this coin would represent a great opportunity to continue the David Lawrence legacy of appreciating Barber Coinage.

As the auction moved along, the lots moved quickly to the Barber quarters and after a few other items sold, the 1901-S approached. After spirited bidding, the coin dropped for a total of $327,750 including the buyer’s premium. As enthusiastic as I was to be the bidder, I believe that John was even more excited as he was on the other end of the phone as we celebrated the victory.

If you had the opportunity to view the piece at the Bowers and Merena Auction lot viewing or have seen it previously, you understand the importance of this coin and realize that you are in the presence of greatness.

While there are certainly other items that we will be purchasing at the show, this piece will by far outshine anything else that we could possibly buy and we are truly excited to be the new owners of this finest-known PCGS example.

If you are in the Baltimore area this weekend, please stop by and visit with Jason Smith and I at the show as we will be set up at table 403 for the weekend.

Category : Brush's Blog / DLRC (David Lawrence Rare Coins) / News

5 Responses to “David Lawrence Rare Coins Acquires “King of Barber Coinage””


John Feigenbaum March 7, 2010

John is absolutely correct about my enthusiasm in our acquisition of this incredible coin. I have handled many mint state 1901-S quarters (including an amazing NGC MS67 coin that we bought/sold 3 different times already!) — but this coin knows no peer in the Barber quarter series. First, it’s a 1901-S quarter, an issue whose desirability transcends the BQ series. But this consensus MS68 (PCGS and NGC both agree on the grade) 1901-S quarter may be the finest mint state Barber quarter known, period. WHat an incredible combination, rarity and quality. Together.

My father and I were first offered this coin back at the June 1990 Long Beach show after it was graded MS68 by NGC. My dad couldn’t sleep that night while he tossed and turned about how he could put the deal together. The seller even considered offering us a 25% share in the coin…We just couldn’t swing it at the time.

In the 20 years hence I had not seen hide nor hair of this coin. I have often wondered about it location and it suprised me to see it in the Baltimore Bowers & Merena Auction catalog.

There she was…my old friend…and I knew that I wouldn’t let her slip through my fingers a second time.

As to value, John Brush and I discussed this at length as we prepared for the auction. We knew it would take a strong bid to buy this coin and we would have paid even more than the 285 hammer. After the 1894-S dime, I cannot think of a single more important Barber coin out there, and it still seems like a bargain price to me.

I am looking forward to getting this coin and personally cataloging it on sell on our web site. Whatever collection this piece finally lands in will certainly be very fortunate to have this piece…



You must be logged in to post a comment.