For those of you new to collecting U.S. large cents Ted Naftzger assembled the finest collection of U.S. large cents. Unlike many of his contemporaries he was consumed in acquiring quality coins, not merely filling in every Sheldon or Newcomb variety. He strived to own the finest of every die variety from 1793 to 1857. Quite a task!

Bob Grellman wrote in the forward to the Part II sale. “Ted was a man of considerable means, as you would imagine, but he did not simply write checks. He was a true numismatist who spent an enormous amount of time studying his cents.” Some may find this surprising but most dealers, especially those of us who have been active since the early 70’s and before, love and study coins with the same passion.

It was with this passion and business interest that I prepared for the Goldberg auction of Ted Naftzger’s middle dates. I have experienced through the years, having been an auctioneer of many rare and unique coins, the electrified feeling in the auction room when a great coin or collection was being sold. The Naftzger middle date auction equaled my past experiences with one exception, the feeling of anticipation and excitement was present during lot viewing! Everyone knew despite the economic downturn and the uncertainty in the financial markets this was going to be something special.
Given the shaky economic situation, no one knew for certain what to expect.

The sale began with the first lot an 1816 Necomb-1 rarity-4 graded PCGS 64 red and brown, and the finer of two known mint state examples. The coin hammered at $15,500.00 to Tony Terranova. A fair and perhaps bargain price, I thought. I wondered if this would be the beginning of an opportunistic buying event.

I remembered when the Goldberg’s owned Superior Rare Coin Auctions, a group of mostly red 1855 half cents appeared at auction. I bought a major share of the coins and was thrilled to do so. Some of my fellow dealers wondered why I would acquire so many of one date. Within six months it was difficult to locate a single one of those coins. A thirty coin hoard is still, in my experience, a small quantity. With those thoughts in mind I decided to buy as many of the middle dates of the highest quality I could acquire. The Sale continued.

The action between Chris McCawley, Tony and to a lesser degree, myself continued. Not having an unlimited resource of funds or EAC clients I still pursued the high quality coins. Soon I noticed other dealers who had been sitting on the sidelines beginning to bid. The sale and excitement was building.
Joe O’Conner acquired a beautiful 1816 N-6 PCGS graded 66 brown. Coins like these do not appear very often if ever again, I reminded myself.
The sale was now building from a so-so weak beginning to an increasing stronger auction. Tony and Chris continued however to garner most of the prize coins occasionally allowing me to snipe one or two.
The 1817 “mouse trap” N-7 PCGS graded 66 hammered at $27,000.00. The action was building. Soon one of the finest condition censuses#2 1817 15 stars obverse would be sold. It opened at $14,000.00 and closed at $44,000.00. True condition rarities were bringing their value. As we approached the middle of the sale the first coin to top six figures was sold. An 1820/19 N-3 PCGS graded ms65 red and brown at $105,000.00. The 1820 hoard coins with different degrees of redness brought prices commensurate with their color preservation. I have often depicted red brown certified coins as red red brown © or red brown brown © to give a clearer verbal description of the coin. The bidders also were voting with their dollars and confirming the distinction as varying degrees of redness brought different and many cases substantial price differences.

Joe O’Conner purchased an 1821 large cent that I sold for New England Rare Coin Auctions in 1981. This and the other mostly red 1821’s where discovered in a cornerstone of a Boston building along with a group of 1804 half cents. What a numismatic find. The PCGS graded ms64 red was hammered at $34,000.00.The sale continued.

When the 1823’s appeared in mint state 65 and 66 the room was quiet with a hush of sound. The PCGS graded ms65 brown opened at $32,500.00 crossed six figures and sold at $110,000.00 hammer. Certainly the ms66 brown would bring $150,000.00 or perhaps more, I thought. When the hammer fell at $260,000.00 the owner of the ms65 must have felt like he had the bargain of the sale. There are always lulls in an auction affording opportunities. These bargains may not appear regularly but they do occur.

The sale advanced with a noticeable intermittent bidding. A superb 1830 N-7 PCGS Proof65 brown was hammered to Laurie Sperber (Legend numismatics) for $160,000.00. Another six figure gem was sold. I acquired an 1831 N-7, ex Jerry Bobbe coin, with superb color and surfaces. A coin I felt was at least one point under graded. I was aware of opportunities as the sale neared the end. Individual high quality bargains appeared. The sale was winding down and so was the bidding. With the great condition rarities sold the high quality type coins were becoming buyable. As the sale concluded I felt I had acquired some of the best date examples and a few finest known Necomb varieties.

Part II was over but Naftzger Part III awaits and the economy has not improved, perhaps with the appearances of the Dan Holmes collection preceding Part III coupled with a weak economy I may be able to snipe a few gem late dates for my customers and myself. Of course there is always Tony, Chris Joe and other dealers to contend with. They like Ted love rare coins and are true numismatists.

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