NGC-certified McCloskey Collection featured in Heritage Auctions’ FUN Show sale

Early U.S. gold and silver rarities pedigreed to the renowned numismatic researcher are being offered in a January sale.

Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) is proud to have certified more than 1,000 coins from the prestigious collection of John W. McCloskey, a renowned numismatic researcher. Heritage Auctions is offering these coins in two sales in early 2022, including the FUN U.S. Coins Signature Auction, where 136 NGC-certified highlights of the collection will be offered on January 7.

The centerpiece of the collection is an 1870-CC Eagle graded NGC VF-25 (lot 4438). Struck in the inaugural year of the Carson City Mint, this issue is one of the rarest of all gold issues from that Nevada facility, which stopped issuing coins in 1893.

In addition to Carson City, the sale features coins from five other U.S. Mint facilities, including Philadelphia; New Orleans; Charlotte, North Carolina; San Francisco; and Dahlonega, Georgia. An 1856-D Quarter Eagle graded NGC EF-45 (lot 4417) is another highlight of the sale. Only a few dozen examples are believed to survive of this key state to the Liberty Head series.

The top silver coin in the sale is an 1842-O Small Date quarter graded NGC AU-58 (lot 4326). This is a major variety in the series; only 24 examples are listed in the NGC Census, and this particular coin is the second-finest. The NGC Price Guide suggests this coin should easily realize five figures.

NGC is showcasing these and other McCloskey Collection coins in an image gallery on its website. To explore the gallery, click here.

Nearly 900 more NGC-certified coins from the McCloskey Collection will be offered in a sale on February 6. All of these coins have been encapsulated with a special McCloskey Collection label that spotlights their important pedigree.

About John McCloskey

McCloskey’s passion for seated coinage reportedly began in the 1950s when he began collecting and studying Liberty Seated dimes while still a teenager in high school. In 1973, he founded the Liberty Seated Collectors Club, which celebrates the rich heritage of American silver Liberty Seated coinage. McCloskey served as the elected president of the club as well as the volunteer editor of The Gobrecht Journal, which was the club’s periodical, for nearly four decades.

McCloskey co-authored some of the definitive books on early U.S. dimes, including Federal Half Dimes 1792-1837, which was published in 1998, and Early United States Dimes 1796-1837: A Reference Book of Their Types, Varieties and Rarity, which was published in 1984. He also penned more than 200 articles for The Gobrecht Journal.

He passed away in 2018 at the age of 80.

“John McCloskey generously shared his insight with the numismatic community,” said Mark Salzberg, NGC Chairman. “It was an honor for NGC to certify the coins from the McCloskey Collection, which he painstakingly assembled by leveraging his numismatic expertise.”

Other NGC-certified highlights in the January sale include:

• a 1797 13 Stars dime graded NGC VF-25 (lot 4310)
• an 1800 dime graded NGC VF-30 (lot 4311)
• an 1803 dime graded NGC VF-30 (lot 4313)
• an 1874-CC Arrows dime graded NGC F-12 (lot 4321)
• an 1873-CC Arrows duarter graded NGC F-12 (lot 4335)
• an 1873-CC Seated Liberty dollar graded NGC VG Details (lot 4338)
• an 1834 Classic $5 Script 8, Crosslet 4 graded NGC AU-53 (lot 4374)
• an 1838-C $5 graded NGC VF-30 (lot 4400)
• an 1838-C $5 graded NGC VF-25(lot 4401)
• an 1838-D $5 graded NGC AU-50 (lot 4402)
• an 1870-CC $5 graded NGC VF-25 (lot 4424)
• an 1872-CC $10 graded NGC VF-20 (lot 4439)

Press release courtesy of the Numismatic Guaranty Company.

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