A fresh to market 1879 Flowing Hair four dollar gold piece, or Stella, sold for $228,000 to lead the Premier Session in Heritage’s March 14-16, 2019 Signature Auction in their Dallas headquarters. Overall, the auction exceeded $8 million in sales.

The 1879 stella was discovered in an old-time estate, where it sat untouched and undiscovered for decades in an antique safe in a cottage in the Norman Rockwell-esque town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The heirs had no idea that they had discovered a significant rarity until they took it to a local coin shop, where the coin dealer jumped out of his chair and exclaimed that he had never handled a stella in more than 30 years. This coin eventually received a grade of Proof 66 Cameo from PCGS. It hammered for $228,000.

Continuing an outstanding run of S.S. Central America gold ingots in recent Heritage auctions, the Dallas auction featured three such pieces. A very large Justh & Hunter ingot weighing in at 185.21 ounces took top lot honors in this auction when it sold for $336,000. Part V of The Marcello Collection supplied two small ingots: a Blake & Co. piece weighing 13.35 ounces and a 17.48 ounce ingot from Harris, Marchand & Co. These sold for $156,000 and $144,000, respectively.

Additional highlights from this auction included an 1887 $10 PR64 Deep Cameo PCGS. CAC which realized $72,000; a 1796 50C 16 Stars, O-102, VF25 PCGS that hit $66,000; the 1930-S $10 MS64 NGC brought $60,000; and an 1802/1 $5 BD-8, MS64+ PCGS. CAC saw $52,800. Other highlights include an (1831-34) C. Bechtler Five Dollar, 150 G. 20C. AU55 PCGS. K-15 that reached $48,000; an 1854-S $20 MS63 PCGS which sold for $45,600; and an 1889-CC $1 MS63 Prooflike PCGS that ended at $40,800. All prices include a 20% buyer's premium.

The next Signature auction of US coins will open for bidding soon at coins.ha.com.