1992 was a major year of auctions for Stack’s. We started the year off in January with the Winter Collection, an extensive offering of United States colonial and federal coinage that included gold, silver and copper plus territorials and pattern and numbered 1,468 lots. March brought a similar outstanding collection of United States gold, silver and copper coins, plus a large and important offering of U.S. patterns. This sale of over 2,100 lots gave buyers a significant opportunity to acquire scarce and choice coins collected over several decades, many from famous pedigree collections.
Our May sale was once again held in conjunction with the annual Metropolitan New York Numismatic Convention and featured three important collections. The first was the Gilbert Steinberg Collection of Washington, Lincoln, Columbus & U.S. Mint Medals, a cabinet of outstanding quality and rarity. It was one of the most extensive such collections sold and attracted specialists from all over America. The catalog of 377 lots was enthusiastically received. The second catalog for our May sale was a classic collection of U.S. paper money offering a superb, high quality array of various denominations and including pieces from the very origins of currency in America. Many of the specimens among the 861 lots were considered unique and collectors from all parts of the country scrambled to purchase these rare notes. The sale was “standing room only” as buyers fought to acquire some items not seen for decades.
Finally, our third May catalog featured over 1,200 lots of varied gold, silver and copper denominations that had great appeal for collectors attending this noteworthy convention. The variety offered gave less specialized enthusiasts the chance to bid on valuable U.S. coins from different consignors. These three catalogs made for a very special convention auction in 1992.
In June our sale combined specialize smaller consignments from a group of collectors and we were able to offer a comprehensive catalog of United States coins, in various grades, including many scarcer mintmarks. The 1,697 lots were typical of our sales that provided "something for everyone" from the developing collector to the advanced specialist. Auctions like this started many collectors on their way and, as they developed, such sales also provided the opportunity to improve their collections with choicer or rarer dates. Likewise our September sale served our varied base of collectors and allowed buyers to fill some of the “missing links” in their growing collections.
In October 1992, we were pleased to offer more from the prize-winning collection of Floyd T. Starr, an impressive cabinet that Stack’s had helped build over the years. This was a comprehensive United States coin collection, from outstanding colonial American coinage, through the most sought-after coins of the early U.S. Mint to coins of the 20th century. Many rare and important pedigree coins were included, and finest known examples offered a great opportunity for specialized collectors to add such rare pieces to their holdings. Stack’s earlier sale of the Floyd Starr Collection set the pace for this offering as it too featured the rarity, quality and pedigrees that were hallmarks of this fine cabinet. The October 1992 sale had 1,365 lots of world class specimens and there were thousands who bid by mail, phone or in person. For many, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire such pieces.
Our auction season closed out in December with another trio of collections, starting with a rare and choice offering of United States paper money types, a specialized collection of Puerto Rico banknotes, and a collection of U.S. Silver Certificates formed by banker James W. Thompson. The 382 lots brought many record prices from collectors who participated from all parts of America. This was followed by a comprehensive collection of U.S. gold, silver and copper coins assembled by Richard Yeager, enhanced by additional important collections. We concluded our December 1992 offerings with a sale of ancient and foreign coins and banknotes from the collections of Floyd T. Starr, Dr. Alfred Globus, Charles Wormser, Emillo Ortis, and Dr. Richard Ciccarelli. This auction featured scarce, rare and choice specimens from around the world and was welcomed by our bidders who focused on such things, as it was our first sale of the year that was not geared to United States items. The 1,684 lots presented covered a diverse selection to appeal to a wide array of collectors. We were happy to be able to end 1992 by serving our clients in all areas of numismatics.
