Legend Rare Coin Auctions hosted its final online Premier Session auction on Dec. 16 as the auctioneer refocuses its efforts on the six Regency Auctions it has planned for 2019. 

In the Dec. 16 online auction, the top lot was a 1915-S Panama-Pacific International Exposition commemorative octagonal gold $50 piece, graded About Uncirculated 53 by Professional Coin Grading Service, that sold for $52,250. The sale also included a round example graded AU-55 by PCGS that brought $49,500. Although the octagonal format is more common, the coin’s unusual shape makes it more coveted by collectors than the scarcer round coin. 

Inside Coin World: Readers report doubled die, repunched Mint mark finds: We preview content exclusive to the Jan. 21 print and digital editions of Coin World, including reader discoveries (like a Proof 1963 Roosevelt dime with a doubled die reverse) in the monthly column “Varieties Notebook.”

It’s very unusual to see an example of either the round or octagonal $50 Pan-Pac “Slug” in lightly circulated condition, and light friction can be seen on the design’s high points including the face of Minerva on the obverse and across the owl on the reverse.

Consistent with the grade, Legend observed, “There are a number of microscopic marks and ticks, visible only with a strong glass, none of which are distracting to the naked eye,” before concluding that the opportunity to find a lightly worn example that does not have noted problems, like cleaning or rim dents, is rare. 

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