A 1920 Saint-Gaudens gold $20 double eagle graded Mint State 65 by Professional Coin Grading Service sold for $188,000, leading bidding at the Regency XXV Auction by Legend Rare Coin Auctions on Jan. 25. Next was the finest certified Proof 1852 Seated Liberty dollar graded PCGS Proof 65 with a green Certified Acceptance Corp. sticker that realized $129,250.

As always with Legend’s auctions, colorful coins attracted strong bids.

Legend’s Regency XXVI auction is scheduled for May 17 in New Orleans, followed by Regency XXVII in Las Vegas on July 26. 

Here's one of the colorful lots that changed hands Jan. 25:

The Lot:

1877-S Trade dollar, Mint State 66

The Price:

$17,625

The Story:

Morgan dollars often get the lion’s share of attention at Legend’s auctions, but the Las Vegas sale, held in conjunction with the PCGS Member’s Only show, also offered a gorgeous 1877-S Trade dollar graded MS-66 by PCGS. The mintage of 9,519,000 is the highest of the Trade dollar denomination and collectors gravitate toward the issue for type purposes since it was a generally well-produced issue.

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Legend compared the unusually generous cartwheel luster seen on both sides of this Trade dollar to an 1880-S Morgan dollar, explaining, “The bands of radiance rolls smoothly, uninterrupted by any breaks in the frost, or any thing but the most trivial of contact.”

Collectors’ Clearinghouse: What caused the doubled letters on Douglass quarter dollars? Also in this issue, Wendell Wolka finds more questions while answering another in his "Collecting Paper" column.