On May 24, D. Brent Pogue Collection Part IV sale will take place in Sotheby’s, New York City. A very rare Sultan coin, The Sultan of Muscat-Childs-Pogue 1804 silver dollar, expected to fetch millions in the auction.
The coin was only sold at auction twice, first in a 1917 London sale, then in 1999 when the Pogue family acquired it for $4.14 million.
The diplomatic gift from the United States to Said bin Sultan Al-Said, Sultan of Muscat and Oman is called the king of American coins. It’s considered one of the five rarest coins in the world, according to Stack’s Bowers Galleries.
Although the 1804 silver dollars are dated 1804, such pieces were not minted until 1834. In that year it was desired to create special diplomatic gifts to present on behalf of Andrew Jackson, the president of the United States, to foreign dignitaries.
As might be imagined, for each recipient a fine set of American coinage mounted in an appropriate case. Two sets—one displayed in a red leather case and the other in a case of yellow leather—are known to have been presented: one to the Sultan of Muscat (which included the Pogue Collection coin showcased here), and the other to the King of Siam. Four sets were made, the last two sets were never presented, and what happened to them is not known.
Another highlight from the collection is an 1822 half eagle, the finest of three known, the other two being in the Smithsonian Institution. In the past two centuries the 1822 half eagle has been sold at auction only two times: at the H.P. Smith Sale in 1906 and the Louis E. Eliasberg Gold Coin Collection Sale in 1982. Other transactions have been by private treaty.
The first three Pogue collection auctions netted $68,577,182, the most valuable series of numismatic auctions in history.
For more information on the Pogue Collection, visit stacksbowers.com.
