US Coins

What one of finest Pan-Pac quarter eagles sold for

By Steve Roach

Published: Jan 23, 2017, 7 AM

One of the finest known 1915-S Pan-Pac gold $2.50 quarter eagles, graded MS-67 by NGC with a green CAC sticker, sold for $8,812.50 at Heritage’s 2017 Florida United Numismatists convention auction.

Original images courtesy of Heritage Auctions

A closer look at both sides of one of the finest known 1915-S Pan-Pac gold $2.50 quarter eagles, which sold for $8,812.50 at Heritage’s 2017 Florida United Numismatists convention auction.

Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions

By all accounts the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, held in San Francisco from Feb. 20 to Dec. 4, 1915, was magnificent.

The fair celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal, but also served as a very public display of the city’s recovery after a devastating 1906 earthquake. Like the 1892 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the buildings built for the San Francisco exposition were constructed with temporary materials so most of the buildings are long gone, but the fair lives on through classic commemorative coins.

Here is one of three sold during Heritage’s 2017 FUN auctions that we profile in this Market Analysis:

The Lot:

1915-S Panama-Pacific Expo Commemorative gold $2.50 quarter eagle, MS-67, CAC

The Price:

$8,812.50

The Story:

Like the half dollar, the 1915-S Panama-Pacific Expo commemorative gold $2.50 quarter eagle was a collaboration: Charles Barber designed the obverse, depicting a hippocampus carrying Columbia, and George Morgan showcased another sturdy eagle on the reverse.

It is an issue that “comes nice” with the majority of certified examples falling in the MS-64 to MS-66 range. In MS-67 the population thins substantially, and none is certified finer than MS-67+.

Connect with Coin World:

This Numismatic Guaranty Corp. MS-67 example has a green CAC sticker and is one of the finest known of a total mintage of 6,749 pieces. It sold for $8,812.50 at Heritage’s 2017 Florida United Numismatists convention auctions, perhaps a bit disappointing when one considers that it brought $14,100 when it last sold, at a March 2013 Heritage sale.

Analyzing more Pan-Pac items sold at FUN:

Sold for nearly $200,000, this Pan-Pac gold ‘slug’ is a show-stopper:The octagonal Panama-Pacific International Exposition gold $50 “slugs” are show-stoppers for collectors and noncollectors alike.

Multiple hues grace this 1915 Pac-Pan commemorative half dollar sold at FUN:Examples often showcase beautiful rainbow toning that highlights Charles Barber’s pretty obverse and George Morgan’s handsome reverse design.