Stack’s Bowers Galleries annual Americana Auction, held this year Feb. 5, 6 and 10 in New York City, never fails to introduce new discoveries to the marketplace. The auction was anchored by the Stephen Winthrop Collection, which realized $1.3 million. Those funds will be donated to further ALS research — often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” — through Harvard University’s ALS Initiative program.

Here is one of three interesting coins from the auction that Coin World is profiling in its latest Market Analysis:

The coin:

Newly discovered 1792 Flowing Hair half dime, Fine details, damaged

The price:

Unsold

The story:

Among the exciting, fresh discoveries in the sale was this 1792 half disme that was recently found while metal detecting.

The piece is graded Fine Details, Damage, by Professional Coin Grading Service. The lot is described as “quite nicely toned in a blend of light gray, sandy silver, and pale rose.”

The consignor shared the story of its discovery: “This coin was found in September of 2014 while metal detecting private property in Virginia, the site of an 1861 Civil War skirmish.” He added, “On this particular day, it wasn’t long before I found a musket ball about four inches deep in the soil. I had found about three Civil War bullets when I got a reading on my machine that I thought was another bullet. The machine indicated that the object was about five to six inches deep in the ground, a little deeper than most of the bullets I had found. I pinpointed the spot and dug, finally locating a very small coin. I had never seen a coin like this before and I couldn’t read the date, but it appeared to be in excellent condition.” The discovery failed to meet its reserve of $17,500 and did not sell.

Keep reading this Market Analysis:

Top quality 1877 Indian Head cent earns highest price tag at Winthrop Collection auction

Unusually toned half dollar sells for just over $3,000 at Americana Auction

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