Creators Podcast
Episode #15
2.2.25
The 1822 Half Eagle Gold Coin
The quality of being uncommon, something esteemed or curious, or of unusual excellence. This is a story about rarity, but there’s also a few other themes that pop up over and over again once you begin to learn all about the 1822 half eagle gold coin.
It’s rarity, but it’s also all about mystery, provenance, and relationships that circle all around the 1822 half eagle.
So let’s get into the main themes around this coin and how it was created and what makes it one of the most unique and desirable coins in the world. But before we do that, I have to read this passage from one of the all time great collectors, Virgil M. Brand.
Virgil M. Brand
And he was one of the very select few lucky owners of the 1822 half eagle over a hundred years ago, but he was also a pioneer in the coin collecting world.
Way back in his day, he published amazing articles and attempted to convince people to consider the hobby of coins for its many benefits.
Not the very least, how coins lead to a craving for knowledge. So I love his writing and I wanted to begin with this great passage. Here’s what Virgil Brand says, quote,
“But all, no matter how much they have restricted their field, realize early in their collecting experience – that in order to proceed intelligently -and arrive at a proper and thorough comprehension of their coins, research and study, more or less exhaustive is imperative. To the collector’s zeal is now added a craving for knowledge and his cabinet becomes a powerful and valuable influence in favor of education.” -Virgil M. Brand
So that was a quote from an article written by Virgil Brand, a coin collecting legend. And he wrote the article back in 1905, offering an explanation why he collects coins and what you might find if you join him in the hobby of coin collecting.
I wanted to read the excerpt from Virgil Brand, not just because he was regarded as one of the best coin collectors to ever live, but he also owned in his collection one of the three 1822 Half Eagle gold coins.
And the coin that Brand owned in his collection turned out to be the only coin to be privately owned to this day.
And we’re going to look at each of the three known 1822 half eagles.
So I found a great book on the subject and this might not surprise you, but the book was written by Q. David Bowers.
Q. David Bowers Book on the 1822 Half Eagle
The book is titled the 1822 gold half eagle story of rarity. If you’re not familiar with David Bowers, he’s not only a coin collecting legend, but he’s also a prolific author on the subject of coins. I have a bunch of his books and they’re all great.
I’ve done an entire episode on the 1804 silver dollar and the book he wrote all about that very famous coin and now I have another book by Bowers and this too was a beauty of a book the title like I said the 1822 gold half-eagle story of rarity.
Now we have to stop right there It’s the perfect title for a book on this coin because it’s the story of rarity. That’s exactly what this coin is all about.
Now if you listened to the last episode on the 1933 Double Eagle, that was another story of rarity and you should check out that episode if you haven’t already, but the 1933 Double Eagle is a completely different kind of rarity.
Rarity
The 1822 Half Eagle is such a unique and cool story because it’s still a mystery how they were made. The coins were created over a hundred years before the 1933 Double Eagle.
So the record keeping and all the documentation is just not there to completely piece together the entire story. So we have this 1822 half eagle coin and there’s a few ideas that we’re going to focus on. Like I said, it’s rarity.
It’s the mystery of the coin. It’s the provenance. And you’re going to find out the best of the best collectors were able to own this coin. And that leads me to my final idea. This coin is about relationships.
Mystery & Provenance of the 1822 Double Eagle
For anyone who owned this coin, it’s all about the relationships and knowing the right people. That’s really the only way to have a shot at owning this amazing coin over the years.
Which is why I had to read this great book by David Bowers. He’s plugged into the greatest network in the world of coins.
As you read through his books, they really show you he was able to build up this amazing network that includes the greatest collectors in the world. So let’s check out this book by Bowers.
David Bowers the Author
Published in 2014, the book is amazing because it’s about 115 glossy pages filled with historical photos and amazing content you won’t find compiled altogether anywhere else. David Bowers has the full story of the 1822 half eagle.
I call them a coin collecting legend and that’s because when he writes his books about rare and valuable coins, he doesn’t just research the history of the coin itself, but he researches the history of everyone who ever owned the coin
or anyone who was trying to buy it. Now I’m gonna get straight to the point up front. I’m not gonna make you wait around for the most important facts.
Only Three Known 1822 Half Eagles
There are only three known coins and today two of them are in the Smithsonian and the third coin is held in a private collection. So that’s what we know as of now and that’s why this is one of the greatest coins of all time. There’s only one of them out there owned in a private collection.
And that’s completely insane to think about having that one single coin as part of your collection. So the story of rarity, like Bauer says in the subtitle of his book, it really doesn’t get any rarer than this. But what else do we know?
Where did the coins come from and how did they get so rare? Why did they only create three coins? This is where the mystery comes into play because still, nobody really knows why there’s only three.
Which means there’s possibly more out there just waiting to be discovered. But before you start searching through your desk drawers, you need to understand that coin collectors have known the rarity of this coin for over a hundred years now.
The Search for the 1822 Half Eagle
So people have been searching the entire globe for this coin and nobody’s found a fourth 1822 half eagle yet. It’s still just the three known coins. But you have to keep in mind another very important point. US mint.
Records showed exactly 17,796 half eagle gold coins were struck in 1822 or at least that’s what was recorded in the logs at the mint. And for the collectors back in the day there was no reason not to trust this information that was recorded.
So when collectors started searching for the rare mintage years of gold coins they mostly just passed right over the 1822 because the logs showed they weren’t that rare.
But then collectors began to realize nobody could find the 1822 coin. As some of the most diligent and studious collectors began assembling collections of gold coins, they were seeking out a complete set. One coin for every minted year.
The Great Collectors Realizing the Rarity
And they began to notice they all lacked the half eagle from 1822. When they turned to their fellow collectors to compare notes and tried to find a half eagle from 1822, they quickly discovered nobody else had one either. So then the race was on.
it slowly became clear that this coin was a true rarity, which made it even more desirable. The 1822 half eagle turned out to be almost impossible to find and that’s when collectors began to suspect the production numbers from the mint logbook of 17,796 coins.
Those numbers might be incorrect. One thing we do know is that back in the day in certain years, the mint would use the previous year’s dyes to strike new coins.
and then record the mintage in the current year. So they think that many of the 1822 half eagles they thought they produced, at least they recorded that they produced, were struck with the 1821 or even the 1820 dies.
So those coins are dated 1821 or earlier. Another theory is that any 1822 half eagles actually created and minted with the date of 1822 were melted down.
Leaving just three, or at least three that we know of. And how these three coins survived, nobody has yet to figure out. And maybe we’ll never know. But we need to look at the collectors.
Hardly Ever Sold at Auction
The world’s greatest collectors of the last 150 years sought out this coin once it was discovered to be so rare. And only a select few of them were able to own it. The coin only sold at public auction twice in the last 150 years.
And that’s a huge part of this coin story. The challenge to find an 1822 half eagle and then somehow convince the owner to sell it.
You had to have the relationships just to have a chance. So the world’s greatest collectors struggled with this issue for generations, how to acquire this coin. So coin number one, where did it come from?
Turns out the first documented sighting of an 1822 half eagle was from the very early days of the US Mint Cabinet in Philadelphia, all the way back in 1838.
The Mint Cabinet turned out to be a very important place for coin collectors to gather back in those days, and they would gather to examine all different types of coins at the Mint Cabinet. Today we know it as the National Numismatic Collection as part of the Smithsonian.
The U.S. Mint Cabinet Coin
But back then the mint cabinet was a place for collectors to research and even trade coins in and out of their collection.
And my favorite example of this, and we talked about this during the episode I did on the 1804 silver dollar, and he’s one of my favorite coin collectors ever, Matthew Stickney. So way back in the day in the early days of the mint cabinet,
The Great Matthew Stickney
Stickney caught wind of a rare coin sitting in the mint cabinet and quickly made a visit in person where he ended up trading a few of his coins for an 1804 silver dollar.
Stickney actually noticed the coin from a picture in a book and he nearly jumped out of his chair to get to the mint cabinet in Philadelphia and make a trade for one of the most rare coins in history, the 1804 silver dollar.
And Stickney didn’t get lucky. He was one of the greatest collectors to ever do it. He knew how rare the 1804 silver dollar was, better than anyone.
And once he found out it was sitting in the mint cabinet, he immediately traded for it. So there’s no luck involved with Stickney. He was more knowledgeable than anyone else, and that’s how he built up his amazing collection.
One of the Greatest Coin Collectors of All Time
Not only that, but once Stickney traded for that super rare 1804 silver dollar, he started writing letters to the other collectors, explaining what he just found. And those letters ended up helping collectors decades later solve the mystery of the 1804 silver dollar.
So you have to check out that episode if you don’t know about my main man, Matthew Stickney, a great collector and quite the character. So anyways, my point is the mint cabinet was a destination for coin collectors back in the day.
And as you hear more stories about the great old time collectors, you’ll find out that many great trades and deals were made at the mint cabinet. But this happens to be the first time in 1822, Half Eagle would turn up at the mint cabinet.
Adam Eckfeld at the Mint
So how did it get there? It was another coin icon who was also a mint employee, Adam Eckfeld.
He pulled the 1822 half eagle from a stack of deposited gold coins that were on their way to be melted down. So Eckfeld spotted this half eagle and set it aside to display in the mint cabinet.
We can only wonder how many other 1822 half eagles were in that pile of gold coins when Eckfeld spotted this coin. We’ll never know because they were all melted except for the one that Eckfeld pulled aside.
Right at the same time, in June of 1838, the Mint cabinet was officially established. It turns out Adam Ekfeld was quite the coin collector. Not only did he have a great eye for rare half-eagle gold coins like the 1822, but Ekfeld worked at the Mint in several different roles since the very beginning. All the way back to 1792, the year the US Mint was created.
So here’s a guy that dates all the way back to the first days of the U.S. Mint. He constantly pops up in the stories of the greatest coins in the world. It was Eckfeld who also pulled one of the seven known Brasher doubloons from a deposit of gold coins at the Mint in 1838, just before those coins were sent off to be melted down also.
Eckfeld the Chief Coiner at the Mint
So Eckfeld works his way up to the role of Chief Coiner at the Mint from 1814 to 1839. Another crazy coin story in my episode on the 1804 silver dollar. Adam Eckfeld pops up in that story as well and you should check out that episode if you’re curious how they solved the mystery of the 1804 silver dollar.
But Adam Eckfeld is right in the middle of the very beginnings of that coin as well back in the 1800s. What would turn into one of the most valuable coins in the world?
So this is the very first of the three 1822 half eagles grabbed out of a pile of gold coins headed to the mint inferno to be melted. And Adam Eckfeld grabs it and now this first of three known coins is safe and sound in the U.S. Mint Cabinet.
The Smithsonian Coin
Now we have to look at coin number two. So the Mint Cabinet coin collection was moved to the Smithsonian and that transition happened in 1923.
Then in 1967, another legendary coin collector, Josiah K. Lilly, who owned the second 1822 Half Eagle, passed away and left his massive collection of gold coins to the Smithsonian. And in that donation was the second 1822 Half Eagle.
David Bowers tells this story in his book, but he doesn’t stop there.
You’re in luck if you want to trace the coin back through every single collector who ever owned it, because that’s exactly what he does in his book. Bowers traces this second coin back to the very beginning, and you won’t believe the detail Bowers includes in his book on this second coin.
It’s an entire chapter tracking the coin from the very first documented owner back in the 1880s, coin collector Harlan P. Smith.
So now there’s two 1822 Half Eagle gold coins sitting in the Smithsonian by 1967. But there’s one more known coin out there. So where is it? Coin number three, it’s the only 1822 Half Eagle to be owned in a private collection.
And the story of that coin begins with an auction dating all the way back to 1892. In a sale from collector, Hiram Dietz.
So this coin popped up in the catalog that was put together for the sale by Dietz, but the coin didn’t sell in this auction.
We lose track of coin number three for a few years after it appeared in the catalog, but then the coin makes its very first official appearance in a transaction between Moritz David and Virgil M. Brand in 1899.
Virgil M. Brand
Virgil Brand takes possession of the coin and owned it for a few decades until he passed away in 1926. But Virgil M. was not just your average collector. He was another one of the all-time greats.
When he died, Virgil Brand’s brother took ownership of the coin in 1926 and in 1945 it sold to Lewis Eliasberg. From Eliasberg the
The was sold to David Akers in 1982 on behalf of MacPogue. Then in 2021, the coin sold again to a private collector for $8.4 million, making it the third most valuable coin to ever sell at auction.
Now we need to stop right here and take a closer look at this. What’s really cool about this third coin, the only one to be privately owned, is the heritage and the pedigree.
The coin went from one amazing collection to the next. And if you’re not familiar with these names, you have to understand who these legendary collectors are. Virgil Brand, to Lewis Eliasberg, to Mack Pogue.
The Provenance of the 1822 Half Eagle
Three titans in the world of coin collecting. To have these three names attached to any single coin would drive up the value sky high. But to have these names attached to the only privately owned 1822 half eagle now that’s a combination that will create insane value and insane demand.
Owning any coin from just one of these historic collections is a real accomplishment for any collector Let alone this coin that we’re talking about right here, and that’s what makes this single 1822 coin the only one of its kind so incredibly desirable rare and iconic
So you might not be familiar with these three collectors, but they all own this same exact 1822 half-eagle coin. When you hear the word provenance, this is the example that should pop into your head. Brand, Eliasburg, Pogue. One coin going straight through these three collections over a span of a hundred years.
The Brewer from Chicago
That’s the definition of provenance. Let’s start with Virgil Brand, a wealthy brewer from Chicago.
He spent almost 50 years building one of the greatest collections ever. He owned over 350,000 coins. One of my favorite things about Virgil Brand is from an article he wrote in a coin collecting magazine way back in 1905, where he made the case for coin collecting.
This is really cool because many of the great coin collectors, wouldn’t just hide in their homes in private.
But many of them were out in the public eye and very outspoken about the great joys and benefits of collecting coins. Sure, you could say they were just talking their own book, but it was clearly because they loved the hobby and wanted to explain their passion to the rest of the world who might be missing out on some of the fun.
You see this over and over with the great coin collectors. They would write letters and articles and give speeches to make their case why
Anyone would want to spend their time collecting coins and their arguments were very convincing because coin collecting steadily gained in popularity all along the way So Virgil Brand published this article in 1905.
I read an excerpt from the same article to start this episode and the entire article is fascinating so I’m gonna read a bit more of it and David Bowers features this article in his book and you can tell Bowers really appreciates this article by Brand.
So in the article, Brand explains the attraction of collecting coins. And this is what he says, quote, ask collectors their reasoning for collecting. And almost invariably, they answer that it is for recreation.
The Wise Words of Virgil Brand
With the greatest number, this is the paramount motive. And as recreation is a necessity as well as a diversion, a collection in providing it provides a service of no little value.
But recreation is of several kinds and compensating mental recreation is more difficult to find than that of a physical character. End of quote. So here Virgil Brand is explaining why you might want to consider collecting coins.
He says it’s a recreation of several kinds and the mental rest and relaxation you get from coin collecting can be one of the big benefits. But Brand continues in his article. He says quote,
Perhaps the chief value of collecting is that it arouses so keen an interest in the objects collected that research and study concerning them, which otherwise would have been uninteresting and irksome and might have received little or no attention, becomes an attractive recreation, and in consequence made much more thorough and comprehensive.
A prompt reward for the expended effort is a greatly increased appreciation of the collected objects. Knowledge gained through an absorbing interest in the things to which it relates is fixed far more firmly in the mind than if acquired with no such incentive. Nor will the impulse toward the acquisition of knowledge thus given easily exhaust itself as it will be constantly regenerated by the discovery of new material. -Virgil M. Brand
That’s Virgil Brand right there, legendary collector making the case why coins are well worth your time and effort and can be rewarding because of the appreciation you gain for the subjects you collect.
It’s a simple, basic concept, but I love these old articles like this because of course
Brand is trying to encourage people to collect and grow his hobby, but he’s also really trying to help people discover something new. And what he’s found in his collecting journey is a greater appreciation the longer he collects and the more he learns. So it’s great advice.
Brand’s Love of Collecting
I couldn’t agree more with Virgil Brand that just having an interest and then pursuing that interest and wanting to know more. That’s the fun part of collecting and something that people might not understand until they get started.
Brand also says something that I love. Later in this same article, and I’ll read it, he talks about how many different things can be learned by the study of coins. And this is one of the reasons I love learning about these coins as well. And he says it better than anyone. Here’s what he says in his article. He says,
the branches of learning to which the science of numismatics is related are numerous and many collectors specialize selecting one or more of them, according to their inclination or interest. It is a part of archaeology and is a valuable aid in the study of mythology, heraldry, iconography, and other subjects. But its relation is closest to history. In fact, coins have been freely employed in revisiting the latter and much valuable historical data rests entirely upon their testimony. -Virgil M. Brand
That’s great. And that’s what I’ve done with these episodes on coins. The study of just one single coin opens the door to an entire period of history. And he sums up his point like this. He says quote,
in the domain of art, coins and metals occupy an important place. They furnish instantaneous ocular proof of the attained stage in its development at all times and are unimpeachable. contemporaneous witnesses to its progress. -Virgil M. Brand
And he’s just laying it all out. Over a hundred years ago, he knew all about the same thing that we’re all doing right here.
The benefits to studying history and the coin collecting journey and how learning about coins can tell the story of nearly our entire world and culture. It’s the exact reason why I love learning about these coins.
And I’m clearly not alone with that passion for history and the almost never-ending exploration of amazing stories that coins can bring. And Virgil M. Brand is an all-time great.
He’s just preaching the ways of coin collecting and all the way up until he passes away in 1926. So he passed along his great collection to his brothers after he died, including this third 1822 half eagle.
David Bowers includes the obituary that they wrote about Brand when he passed away, and this will give you an idea of what the other collectors thought of Brand’s collection back in the 1920s. And they wrote this,
Other collections have more frequently been referred to and discussed than his. But the statement that he had brought together the greatest number of coins representing the greatest value in a collection owned by an individual in this country or in the world will perhaps go unchallenged.
So that was written about Brand after he passed away in 1926. And what’s crazy that with Virgil Brand, owning this coin for 27 years, it’s only the start of the incredible pedigree because soon, Virgil Brand’s brothers, they sell the coin to Louis E. Eliasberg, who assembled possibly the greatest coin collection of all time.
Louis E. Eliasberg
So from one great to the next, Louis Eliasberg took his game to a whole new level. His goal was to own one coin of every single mint mark of the US coins ever made. From 1793 on, and not just any old coin to complete a series, but he would go for the absolute finest specimens to exist.
And he nearly completed this entire set of US coins, but he needed just a few more, and the 1822 half eagle was one of the coins he needed to finish his incredible collection.
But David Bowers has the full story in his book on how Eliasburg lands this coin. There’s much negotiation back and forth between Eliasburg, his coin dealer, and Burdette Johnson, who represented the Brand Brothers collection.
One of the Greatest Collections Ever
So there’s some back and forth on the price, but Eliasburg ends up paying $14,000 for the 1822 Half Eagle in 1945. So it’s a huge sum for one coin back in 1945, but
He needed this coin. Five years later, Eliasberg reached his goal and completed his collection. The craziest coin collection ever assembled. With the addition of the only known 1873 Carson City Liberty Seated Dime, he now had one coin of every single mint mark ever produced in the US. The only collector to ever complete the set.
And most likely it’s pretty safe to say, but just because of the increase in values for all these coins over the years, but it’s pretty safe to say that nobody will ever get close to that ever again.
The 1822 half eagle would sit in Eliasberg’s collection for the next 37 years. And what happens during all these years and up to the sale in 1982. Now that’s gotta be the focus of an entire episode on its own because possibly the greatest coin collection ever assembled doesn’t just get broken up very easily.
Eliasberg Sells off the Collection
What happens is as Eliasberg is getting older, he begins to prepare his affairs and of course starts to make plans for his incredible collection. So in 1976, Lewis Eliasburg Sr. passes away, leaving his entire collection, including the 1822 Half Eagle to his two sons.
And now this is why love reading these books by Q. David Bowers. And you might not realize this, but David Bowers is not just an author who writes about coins. He’s also been one of the top coin dealers in the world for over 50 years.
So he’s known all these amazing collectors personally, dating all the way back to the 1960s. When Louis Eliasberg Jr. was looking to auction off his father’s collection back in the late 1970s,
He turned to none other than David Bowers. And they struck up a handshake deal to auction off the entire epic collection. And without signing anything in writing, Eliasberg Jr. simply told Bowers, “The collection is yours.” And that’s in the book. You can tell that David Bowers is proud of that fact. And I would be too.
He’s basically saying Eliasberg Jr trusted him enough not even to have a written agreement or a contract, but just giving his word that you can now proceed to stage the greatest coin auction of its time.
Bowers Sells the Elliasberg Collection
Bowers is now going to run the auction and sell off possibly the greatest collection of coins ever assembled. So that’s what Bowers does. His team does a full appraisal, runs the marketing and sets up his massive coin auction in October of 1982.
Now leading up to the coin auction, the Eliasberg family didn’t want their name to be used for the sale, which Bowers honored, but just the size of the sale and the fact that it included the only 1822 half eagle to be owned in a private collection that pretty much gave away the identity of the seller to anyone who knew anything about coins.
They all knew that Eliasberg had the only privately owned 1822 half eagle, but this was a record breaking auction.
The Lewis E. Eliasberg Collection brought in over $12 million. This was real money back in 1982. $12 million.
And of course, included in the auction was the 1822 Half Eagle, which sold on its own for $625,000. So where did it go? Who was the lucky buyer of the only available 1822 Half Eagle?
Brent Pogue Collection
After the bidding war was over in the Eliasburg auction of 1982, D. Brent Pogue, a Texas real estate developer, ended up with the gold coin. Just when you thought this world famous coin was sold off and broken up from the greatest collection of all time, it lands in another collection that might be right up there with the best ever.
Not only did the Brent Pogue collection now include the only 1822 half eagle to be owned privately, but it also included the finest known 1804 silver dollar.
That’s the episode I did a while back that I mentioned a few times already on the 1804. But these are two of the most difficult coins to find anywhere and now Brent Pogue owns both of them.
So the coin would remain with the Brent Pogue collection for almost 40 years until it sold in 2021 for $8.4 million to an unnamed private collector.
The 8 Million Dollar Coin
Now if you happen to own this coin and you’re listening right now I sure would be interested in talking to you about your coin. I would love to feature an entire episode on how you ended up with this 1822 half eagle and your thoughts on owning one of the most valuable and rare coins in the world. So please reach out to me if you’re out there.
Anyways, I won’t hold my breath, but you never know who’s out there listening, which is one of the fun things about making these episodes.
But for now we start to wrap this story up and I want to look at the epilogue of the great book by Q. David Bowers. He chronicles the entire history of each of these three coins known to exist. Everyone who’s ever owned it and anyone who’s helped broker the exchange even.
But I love the conclusion to this book by Bowers. It’s a great summary of what the coin is all about and why coin collectors have so much fun pursuing and chasing these incredible coins.
The Great Collectors of the 1822 Half Eagle
Like I said earlier, there’s millions of you out there who love this hobby of coin collecting and it’s more than just collecting. Like Virgil Brand explained in his article that I read earlier, it’s really a gateway to our culture and history and putting the puzzle pieces together. Bowers says this in the epilogue of his book about the 1822 half eagle. says,
The tale of the 1822 half eagle encompasses several of the greatest collections in America. The national numismatic collection, the Virgil Brand collection, the Lewis E. Eliasburg collection, and the D. Brent Pogue collection. Amazingly, there were just two times in entire history of coin collecting in America that the 1882 Half Eagle has been sold at auction. As described in the foregoing chapters, other transactions have been by public treaty. I will never be fortunate enough to own an 1822 Half Eagle. So, writing the book and also at one time or another holding each of the three known pieces in my hand will have to take its place. – Q. David Bowers
So that was David Bowers. talking about just how amazing this coin is, but it also shows you what an expert really looks like. Bowers in the last page of his book here, he goes on to recall working with his friend, Lewis E. Elizberg, and the dealers who were involved in the sale of the 1822. Bowers ends his epilogue with this great statement.
He says,
by way of this book, I hope you’ve come to know some of the great figures in American numismatics and along the way, the inside story of the 1822 half eagle. I further hope that you will have a chance to see one in person in the national numismatic collection or at an exhibition of the D Brent POGUE coin. All good wishes. -Q David Bowers.
And of course, by now the coins no longer with the D Brent Pogue Collection, it’s moved on to the next owner. One that remains a secret for now, but hopefully the coin tradition continues and soon we’ll get to track the amazing pedigree and provenance of this one of a kind coin and we can start to learn more about exactly where it’s resting and when the next sale might take place.
The Greatest Rare Coins in the World
As you can see by now, I love the stories of these ultra rare coins.
I’ve done a handful of episodes on the greatest coins of all time and they all have their own amazing details that make learning the story a lot of fun. But the 1822 Half Eagle is a story about rarity, provenance, mystery, and relationships.
For collectors who may want to own this coin someday, there’s only one available so it’s rarity at the highest level you can find. Now mix in just one single coin with the provenance and pedigree of Virgil Brand, Lewis Eliasburg, and Brent Pogue, and you have the bloodline tracing back through the ultimate collections ever assembled.
Next we have the mysterious story behind the coin. Just a few theories is all we have to go on here. Now there’s a few great coins where collectors have solved the mystery over time. For example, the episode I did on the 1804 silver dollar.
All Time Great Collectors
Great collectors pieced together clues from written letters and after nearly a hundred years they began to realize how the 1804 silver dollar was struck.
That mystery was solved. But this mystery isn’t solved. All we know is the 17,000 some coins that were recorded in the official mint logs for 1822 were most likely struck with 1821 dies. But if that’s true, then where did the three known coins come from?
We don’t know. Others suspect that the 1822 half eagles were struck but were quickly melted down and somehow just three remained. But we don’t know that for sure either.
So let me ask you just one more question. What would happen if other 1822 dated half eagles were suddenly found? What if an entire bag turned up somewhere in the basement of an old bank vault in Switzerland? It’s possible.
How Many More 1822 Half Eagles Out There?
That’s just another reason to love this story and finally this coin is all about relationships And I say that only because I just read David Bowers awesome book on the subject.
It’s one of the reasons people take up coin collecting the community and the relationships are as much fun as the coins themselves and you can clearly see that reading any book by David Bowers and A reason I love reading them. He’s all about the relationships.
If you want to buy the finest known coins in the world, most of the time, just a bag full of money won’t get you exactly what you want. You also need the relationships to have a chance at the world’s greatest coins.
So that’s my takeaway from this awesome coin story on the 1822 half eagle. Rarity, Providence, Mystery and Relationships.
We talked about my episode on the amazing 1804 silver dollar, but I also have an episode on the 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle and how the entire banking system was on the brink of total collapse at the same time the 1933 double eagles were struck.
Then unprecedented action was taken to avert a total disaster in the process creating what would turn out to be the most valuable coin to ever sell at auction.
The $18 million 1933 Double Eagle. So I hope you check that episode out. It was another fun story to learn all about. I’ve had a blast making these episodes and I really appreciate you listening.
The Discovery and Adventure of Coin Collecting
Please do me a favor and share this coin story with someone who might enjoy it. My goal is to get them interested in collecting and learning about rare coins.
So they might find as much enjoyment as myself and millions of other people have found, just like Virgil Brand explained in his article we talked about earlier.
Over a hundred years ago, it was Brand who said that when you learn about coins, he said, quote, much valuable historical data rests entirely upon their testimony. So have a great rest of your day, wherever you may be.
I have a stack of cool old books here that I can’t wait to dive into. And when I find another great story, you can be sure I’ll be right back here so we can both learn more.