US Coins

Market Analysis: ‘Affordable’ coins at Bass II sale

At $3,120, a pattern 1863 2-cent coin graded Proof 64 brown by PCGS was the least expensive of the 103 lots at Heritage’s Jan. 5 sale of Part II of the Bass Foundation auction.

All images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

While four coins topped the $1 million mark at Heritage’s Jan. 5 auction of the second part of the Harry W. Bass Jr. Foundation Core Collection auction, and no coins were “cheap” by any means, five sold for $5,000 and less.

At $3,120, the most affordable was an 1863-dated pattern for the 2-cent coin, a denomination that would begin production the next year. Listed as Judd 312 and Pollock 377 in the references books on the U.S. pattern coin series, it came graded Proof 64 brown by Professional Coin Grading Service.

The obverse is similar to the regular issue obverse of 1864, while the reverse shows the denomination 2 CENTS with a sharper curve, set within a narrower wreath.

Heritage observed the offered example was “golden-brown with splashes of rose, green, and pale-blue color.”

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