Kolbe & Fanning
Auction 164 27 Aug 2022
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Würtzbach's Plated H.O. Granberg Sale
United States Coin Company. CATALOGUE OF THE SUPERB COLLECTION OF UNITED STATES COINS BELONGING TO A PROMINENT AMERICAN, CONTAINING THE MOST REMARKABLE SERIES OF EARLY SILVER COINS EVER OFFERED AT AUCTION; FIFTY-NINE VARIETIES OF 1794 CENTS, OVER FORTY VARIETIES OF 1796 CENTS, CHOICE CENTS OF 1793 AND OTHER DATES, AND A FINE COLLECTION OF GOLD COINS. New York, May 19-21, 1915. Crown 4to, original blue embossed cloth, gilt; floral endpapers. 50 pages; 2 blank leaves; 1442 lots; 7 fine photographic plates taken by Edgar H. Adams. Original printed prices realized list laid in. Above-average impressions of plates. A handful of annotations throughout, generally signed "CW" (for Carl Würtzbach). Fine. Adams 23, with plates. Rated A overall and for large cents, early silver and late silver in particular: "MS 1793 half cent. Fabulous 1794 1¢ varieties, many ex-Gilbert. Strong 1796 1¢ as well. Choice early silver, also RR mintmarks: MS 1804, 1822 10¢. MS 1804 25¢; MS 1794-1803 50¢; proof 1847-1858 $1. 1826, 1827, 1855-D $2.50." A rare and most important catalogue; one of only a half dozen or so plated examples to come to market in the past three decades. As usual with U.S. Coin Company sales, the plates are of uneven quality, but remain superior to most of the period. Three of the plates depict choice early date large cents; three illustrate early silver coins in superb condition; and the final plate is devoted to early United States gold coins. The interesting scattered annotations and notes are sometimes accompanied by "CW" in pencil (doubtless Carl Würtzbach) and also indicate lots, mainly large cents, purchased by him. A note preceding the half dime section reads: "Nearly all these gems, entire silver items, from De Witt Smith Col. Lee Mass 1906 CW." In a July 1962 Numismatist article, Jack W. Ogilvie observed that Granberg "possessed one of the most outstanding collections in America." In 1913, B. Max Mehl sold important selections from his collection, including 1884 and 1885 trade dollars and the Idler 1804 dollar; additional Granberg coins were sold in two 1919 Mehl sales. Pete Smith observes in American Numismatic Biographies that the "remainder of his collection was sold piecemeal to Woodin, Raymond and others." This shotgun method of dispersal has deprived Granberg of much acclaim, though anyone perusing an illustrated example of this 1915 catalogue can scarcely disagree with Ogilvie's assessment of his numismatic prowess. Ex Kolbe Sale 107, lot 96; ex Cardinal Collection Library.
(Estimate: $1200)
United States Coin Company. CATALOGUE OF THE SUPERB COLLECTION OF UNITED STATES COINS BELONGING TO A PROMINENT AMERICAN, CONTAINING THE MOST REMARKABLE SERIES OF EARLY SILVER COINS EVER OFFERED AT AUCTION; FIFTY-NINE VARIETIES OF 1794 CENTS, OVER FORTY VARIETIES OF 1796 CENTS, CHOICE CENTS OF 1793 AND OTHER DATES, AND A FINE COLLECTION OF GOLD COINS. New York, May 19-21, 1915. Crown 4to, original blue embossed cloth, gilt; floral endpapers. 50 pages; 2 blank leaves; 1442 lots; 7 fine photographic plates taken by Edgar H. Adams. Original printed prices realized list laid in. Above-average impressions of plates. A handful of annotations throughout, generally signed "CW" (for Carl Würtzbach). Fine. Adams 23, with plates. Rated A overall and for large cents, early silver and late silver in particular: "MS 1793 half cent. Fabulous 1794 1¢ varieties, many ex-Gilbert. Strong 1796 1¢ as well. Choice early silver, also RR mintmarks: MS 1804, 1822 10¢. MS 1804 25¢; MS 1794-1803 50¢; proof 1847-1858 $1. 1826, 1827, 1855-D $2.50." A rare and most important catalogue; one of only a half dozen or so plated examples to come to market in the past three decades. As usual with U.S. Coin Company sales, the plates are of uneven quality, but remain superior to most of the period. Three of the plates depict choice early date large cents; three illustrate early silver coins in superb condition; and the final plate is devoted to early United States gold coins. The interesting scattered annotations and notes are sometimes accompanied by "CW" in pencil (doubtless Carl Würtzbach) and also indicate lots, mainly large cents, purchased by him. A note preceding the half dime section reads: "Nearly all these gems, entire silver items, from De Witt Smith Col. Lee Mass 1906 CW." In a July 1962 Numismatist article, Jack W. Ogilvie observed that Granberg "possessed one of the most outstanding collections in America." In 1913, B. Max Mehl sold important selections from his collection, including 1884 and 1885 trade dollars and the Idler 1804 dollar; additional Granberg coins were sold in two 1919 Mehl sales. Pete Smith observes in American Numismatic Biographies that the "remainder of his collection was sold piecemeal to Woodin, Raymond and others." This shotgun method of dispersal has deprived Granberg of much acclaim, though anyone perusing an illustrated example of this 1915 catalogue can scarcely disagree with Ogilvie's assessment of his numismatic prowess. Ex Kolbe Sale 107, lot 96; ex Cardinal Collection Library.
(Estimate: $1200)