1822 Capped Bust Quarter Dollar. B-2. Rarity-8 (as a Proof). 25/50 C. Proof-65 (PCGS). This coin is unforgettable, and looks just as it did when we last saw it 35 years ago. As we described it then, it remains: "A magnificent Proof example. Full Proof surfaces on both obverse and reverse, including within the shield stripes, with the exception of a small frosty area below Miss Liberty’s chin…the obverse and reverse have light lilac toning with blue iridescent overtones. The strike is outstanding." The coin was so well preserved in large part due to its having been carefully kept by T. Harrison Garrett in his vault room accessed through a trapdoor and stairs in the floor of his library at Evergreen House in Baltimore. Since that time, the owners of this prize have handled it with extreme and deserved care.
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One of the delights of the D. Brent Pogue Collection is that we have the opportunity to get reacquainted with many of our favorite coins from “name” sales of years ago. This incredible Gem Proof was a highlight of our Garrett Collection Sale II for The Johns Hopkins University in 1980. There were no third-party encapsulations then, most of the leading buyers of that time are no longer with us, but the quality and appeal of rarities such as this Proof Capped Bust quarter endure. Provenance: From the J. Colvin Randall Collection; our sale of the Garrett Collection, Part II, March 1980, lot 636. |