I collect only the finest specimens… and am not interested in any coin that is not perfect. -- Harold S. Bareford to dealer Paul Seitz, April 1947.Another eye-catching gem Capped Bust quarter eagle from the D. Brent Pogue Collection, a rarity everywhere in the world of numismatics save for between the covers of the present sale catalog. A tiny golden cyclone of satiny luster spins over both sides, frosty and bright. The warm golden surfaces show tinges of coppery toning, beautifully original and displaying ideal aesthetic appeal. A short batch of adjustment marks was not entirely obliterated at the central obverse, where Libertys ear curl appears a bit flat, but nearly all other details are as crisp as intended by the coiner. The left side of the shield is not entirely defined, as almost always seen. A small group of contact points in the upper left obverse field are joined by a few others, including one near the bust truncation, an abrasion under IT of UNITED, and another under US of PLURIBUS. This coin likely looked little different the day it left the Mint, though its color is probably more beautiful and rich in complexity than it was then. Die finish lines, most vertically oriented, are apparent, most obvious near the tip of the eagles beak where some remnants of an earlier clash remain.An extraordinary property, atypical against the backdrop of quarter eagles of this design type but perfectly in line with the demanding connoisseurship of Harold Shaw Bareford and D. Brent Pogue. The only 1827 quarter eagle that has ever been mentioned in the same breath as this one is the Amon Carter specimen, sold in our January 1984 sale (and, again, in Auction 89) with splendid "russet-orange toning." It had been dispossessed of that color by the time it appeared again, graded MS-65 (NGC) in the ANR auction of June 2007 and our sale of June 2012. This piece was termed "on par with, or better than, the Carter example" when last sold in 1985, but this specimen now stands out as clearly superior in terms of technical and aesthetic considerations as well as originality. This is the only example of the date graded finer than MS-64 by PCGS, and this offering represents the very first opportunity modern collectors have to acquire a PCGS-graded gem specimen.Harold S. Barefords main collection of United States gold coins was presented at auction by Stacks in December 1978. In the foreword, his son William J. Bareford pointed out that "many collectors who today style themselves condition freaks were twenty years behind my father in appreciating quality." His collection of U.S. gold coins was primarily built in a short period after he returned from service in World War II, formed through relationships with leading dealers and auction firms. In later years, Bareford worked on cabinets of American silver coins and English coins with equal vigor and attention to quality. His silver pieces were presented in large part in the Stacks sale of October 1981; in May 1984, his New Jersey coppers were sold in another Stacks auction. While the group of quarter eagles sold in the first Bareford auction in 1978 began with the Classic Head type, his earlier dates of this denomination were sold in May 1985. This coin, acquired through the representation of David Akers at that event, has been in the D. Brent Pogue Collection ever since.
