Coins from collector who rediscovered hobby sell in auction
- Published: Oct 13, 2024, 5 PM
One of the signature collections at Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ August auctions was the collection of high school math teacher Tom Hyland.
He was introduced to collecting by his uncle Bill in the 1950s, who encouraged Hyland to visit banks in the area and try to fill holes in his albums. Calling “Uncle Bill” a family favorite, the consignor recalled, “He had a way of telling a story that drew in everyone, and all the cousins would gather around the table to listen to his stories and groan at his bad jokes. When I shared with him some of my coin finds from the bank, he was so sincerely excited that it encouraged me to go look for more.”
Leading the offering was a 1796 Liberty Cap, Right, with Pole half cent graded Very Fine 30 by Numismatic Guaranty Co. that sold for $39,600 at the Aug. 13 Rarities Night session.
The cataloger called it attractive, writing, “Both sides are originally toned in olive-brown and antique copper patina, and the surfaces also display good gloss,” adding, “Hard and tight with no evidence of environmental damage, although a few edge nicks are noted, as is a series of fine scratches over and around Liberty’s portrait.”
The date is the rarest in the entire run for the half cent denomination, produced from 1793 to 1857, and the 1796 issue has two distinct obverse types: the Cohen-1, No Pole and the Cohen-2, With Pole.
The C-2 piece here is one of perhaps 140 examples known today in all grades. The provenance listed in the description alerted bidders to a prior 2021 Stack’s Bowers offering, where it was graded by Professional Coin Grading Service as Very Fine Details, Tooled, and sold for $31,200. In that sale, the cataloger observed, “a series of light scratches over and around Liberty’s portrait explains the PCGS qualifier.”
1855 Seated Liberty 50¢
Runner-up in the prices realized was an ANACS-graded Mint State 61 1855-S Seated Liberty, Arrows at Date half dollar that brought $13,800. Only 200 to 300 are believed to survive from an original mintage of 129,950 pieces, and most saw heavy circulation in the west, as the Gold Rush led to a shortage in parting acids needed to purify silver bullion, resulting in a coin shortage.
Walter Breen speculated that some of the 1855-S half dollars were exported, while others may have been melted by those seeking to take advantage of rapidly shifting precious metal prices at the time.
The cataloger described the coin as “warmly toned in slightly mottled olive-gray and apricot patina,” and said, “both sides retain considerable frosty finish.” The strike and surfaces are praised as “boldly to sharply defined throughout with no singularly mentionable blemishes apart from a few tiny reeding marks and carbon flecks in the upper left reverse field.”
1818 Capped Bust 25¢
Like many collectors, Hyland’s interest in coins waned after high school, only to be rediscovered later in life. Hyland started taking courses offered by the American Numismatic Association at its Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs and he took classes in the minting process, counterfeit detection, early coppers and coin grading.
One of the most eye appealing coins in the holding was an 1818 Capped Bust quarter dollar graded NGC MS-65 that sold for $10,800. Both sides exhibited a satiny finish and bold details thanks to a full strike. Stack’s Bowers commented on the color as “bold, mottled toning in steely charcoal-blue over a base of warm antique gold on the obverse,” while noting, “The reverse is even more vivid with multicolored pearl gray, olive-blue, reddish-gold and deep rose iridescence drifting from lower left to upper right.” The date is popular for type collections, thanks to a relatively generous mintage combined with careful production by the Philadelphia Mint that year.
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