Heritage Sells Eliasberg 1885 Trade Dollar For $3.3 Million
Published January 12th, 2006
Press release
The finest known of the five 1885 Trade Dollars, previously in the collection of legendary “King of Coins” banker, Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. (1896 – 1976), was purchased for $3.3 million in a private sale made by Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers of Dallas, Texas (www.HeritageGalleries.com), Wednesday, January 11, 2006.
“The anonymous buyer is a financial services executive and sophisticated art collector who is putting together one of the finest coin collections in the country. The seller was John Albanese of Far Hills, New Jersey,” explained Greg Rohan, President of Heritage.
The coin is graded NGC PF-66.
“For over 50 years this coin was in the collection and later the estate of colorful Baltimore, Maryland banker, Louis E. Eliasberg Sr., the only collector ever to assemble a complete collection of United States coins. His 1885 Trade Dollar was sold for $907,500 in a 1997 auction. It subsequently changed hands in 1999 for $1.5 million, and now has been purchased for $3.3 million,” said Rohan.
“This is the most valuable rare coin we’ve ever sold, and we sold six coins for over $1 million each in 2005. The rare coin market is incredibly active.”
Trade Dollars were only made from 1873 to 1885 and never intended to circulate within the United States. They were shipped overseas to be used in international commerce.
Only five specially-made proof Trade Dollars were struck in the final year of production, 1885, and this is the finest known example, according to Rohan. The other four examples also are in private collections.
The record price for a rare coin is $7.59 million paid by an anonymous bidder in 2002 for a 1933 Double Eagle $20 denomination U.S. gold coin.
