1800 $1 BB-190 MS(PCGS#40076)

December 2025 Showcase Auction - The James A. Stack, Sr. Collection Part I

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

20005

Grade

MS62+

Price

264,000

Lot Description

An unbelievably beautiful example of this issue, with the sort of color and luster that collectors love but rarely encounter. The obverse shows the brightest and boldest blue at center, framed by a broad ring of rich gold, enhanced by lilac and rose among the denticles. The reverse is similar, dominated by blue and gold but without the dramatically defined rings of color. The centering is very good and the strike is bold, showing only the typical central softness that is hard to escape on dollars of this date. The obverse is close to pristine, showing just trivial hairlines and a shallow scratch that arcs over Liberty's cheek to the corner of her lips. The reverse retains some well-obliterated adjustment marks, mostly at the right side of the star cluster and adjacent clouds and within the shield. They are subtle and affect nothing. The aesthetic appeal is unsurpassable, truly exquisite throughout. Bowers Die State III, with the crack through C of AMERICA, but also a light die crack at Liberty's nose into the field. This crack isn't noted in the BB text, perhaps because so few examples survive in high enough grade to allow its visibility.<p>This is a very rare coin in choice Mint State grades. The only finer example of this die marriage we've offered in modern memory is the Amon Carter-Flannagan coin, which brought $115,000 back in June 2005 as a PCGS MS-64. That coin has since been upgraded with a plus, but it still stands as one of two examples certified finer than this one by PCGS. This example, off the market for 80 years or thereabouts, is a new addition to the Condition Census of the variety. It would be a majestic addition to a connoisseur quality cabinet.