My coins ... spoke to me, and in some cases, sang to me. — Catherine Bullowa-MooreA near gem with stunning eye appeal and bold, satiny luster. Medium yellow gold surfaces are as lively and lustrous as they were during the Jefferson administration, an ideal color as bright as the day of its mintage. Every obverse star has its center, and other details are similarly bold throughout, excepting only slightly at the central reverse. The central obverse hides well some subtle adjustment marks, which explains the inherent reverse softness. No marks are seen, only truly trivial hairlines. Fresh to the market in 2005 after decades off, the surfaces show the light haze of benign neglect, so rare in todays market in which large numbers of coins are cleaned or otherwise brightened. Stars 5 through 7 are connected through their lower points by a die crack, as is LIB of LIBERTY at its tops. A whisker-thin die crack connecting the tops of 805 is only barely visible under magnified scrutiny.PCGS CoinFacts estimates that ten examples survive in grades higher than Mint State-60, a number that seems generous considering how scarce nice examples of this date are. A Mint State PCGS-graded coin has not sold in the past eight years and one graded higher than MS-61 never has crossed the block in that time span. Ron Guth writes that the 1805, long underrated, is one of the rarest dates in the series in Mint State and is one of the most difficult to find in high grade. PCGS has assigned a grade higher than MS-62 to an 1805 quarter eagle only twice in almost 30 years, and both of those coins are in the D. Brent Pogue Collection, a truly remarkable feat.Cataloged in a remarkable 2005 sale by Catherine Bullowa-Moore (aka Coinhunter), then 86 years old, she described the 56 lots as These are some of my favorite things. Presented here are my coins, or if you will, the ones that spoke to me, and in some cases, sang to me. I have been the loving keeper of these pieces for some 50 to 60 years. As in every lifetime, there comes a time to share them with the rest of the collecting world. Heres hoping the new custodians will enjoy these treasures as much as I have. Among the lots that followed were very high grade examples of the 1793 Chain, Wreath and Liberty Cap cents, a 1792 half disme, a gem 1794 half dime, the Milton Holmes 1804 quarter, a spectacular 1795 Flowing Hair dollar that realized over $1 million (and will appear in a future Pogue Collection sale), a gem 1799 eagle, along with curiosities such as a half dollar with the date altered to 1804 and a group lot of Bolen copies. Each of the lots were sold raw in the packed ballroom of a hotel in Center City, Philadelphia, with Ron Guth acting as auctioneer, making for one of the most unexpected and exciting auctions of the past generation. Mrs. Bullowa-Moore described this piece as Very Choice Uncirculated. Original green gold color. Completely defect free and fully struck. It brought nearly ten times her estimate.The coin offered here may have just a single auction appearance on its resume, the Coinhunter sale of December 2005. If it was purchased 50 or 60 years earlier by Mrs. Bullowa-Moore, it may have come from one of the auctions produced in the absolute nadir of coin photography, making positive pedigree identification essentially impossible. Given her shops location in Center City Philadelphia, the Pogue Collection auction may be its only public appearance other than the Bullowa sale.
