An outstanding offering of rarities in every currency collecting specialty including Colonial Currency, Fractional Currency, Obsolete and Confederate Bank Notes, Error Notes, Large and Small Type Notes, along with almost 1800 lots of National Bank Notes from every state and four different Territories highlight the largest ever Heritage-Currency Auctions of America five session FUN 2004 auction. The CAA sale is the official currency auction of the Florida United Numismatists convention, and will take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings along with Friday and Saturday afternoon, January 8-10, 2004 at the Orange County Convention Center, 9800 International Drive, Orlando, Florida. The Convention Center is also the site of the FUN show, as well as the venue for lot viewing for the CAA auction as well as other Heritage sales. The 5297 lot sale features the David Schneider Collection of Insurance Related Obsolete Currency (Part 1), The William T. Thomson, Sr. Collection of Michigan Obsolete Currency and Depression Scrip, The Frank Kennedy Collection of Confederate Currency, the Dr. Lawrence Cookson Collection of Small Size Federal Reserve Bank Notes, the Florida Collection of Error Notes, Fancy Numbers, and Number 1 National Bank Notes, the Frank Kennedy Collection of Alabama National Bank Notes, the Rome Collection of Georgia National Bank Notes, the Monty Farmer Collection of Mississippi National Bank Notes, and the Dustinn Gibson collection of Large Size Oregon National Bank Notes, as well as other important properties from a record 170+ individual consignors. The Thursday evening session opens with over 600 lots of Continental and Colonial Currency, with numerous rarities and especially strong in Georgia, New Hampshire, and Virginia, and highlighted by two different denominations from Vermont. That is followed by 200 lots of Fractional Currency, including a rare Pink Shield example The evening continues with Military Payment Certificates, including an example of the extremely rare Series 661 50 cent Replacement Note and then moves on to a 75 lot offering of Canadian Currency, highlighted by uncirculated examples of the very rare $2 and $5 1954 Devil's Face Replacement Notes The evening closes with about 80 lots of Miscellaneous items, including a magnificent 1852 copy of W.L. Ormsby's work "Bank Note Engraving" presented to President-elect Franklin Pierce. Friday afternoon's session will consist of over 700 lots of Obsolete Currency, anchored by the Schneider Insurance-related note collection and William Thomson's magnificent Michigan collection, the largest assemblage from this popular state ever offered at public sale. Also of note is an offering of eighteen North Carolina Proofs as well as a gorgeous Extremely Fine $100 Kirtland, Ohio Safety Society Bank example from this Mormon-related institution which carries a pre-sale estimate of $8500-12,500. Friday evening is devoted exclusively to Errors, Small Size and Large Size Type Notes. There are over 100 lots of Errors, highlighted by a Savannah, Georgia large size National Bank Note with mismatched charter numbers, one of only four pieces known bearing this error, a note which carries a pre-sale estimate of $25,000-35,000. The errors are followed by almost 600 lots of Small Size Type Notes, including a Gem Crisp Uncirculated 1928E star $1 Silver Certificate, 3 1933 $10 Silvers, 3 serial number 1 type notes, two $10,000 Federal Reserve Notes, and the Dr. Lawrence Cookson collection of Federal Reserve Bank Notes, which contains, among other rarities, the unique $100 Dallas district star note. The session concludes with more than 700 lots of Large Size Type Notes, and is replete with rarities including a Fr. 165a "Spread Eagle" hundred which is tied for finest known, a Fr. 185d $500 Legal grading Choice Fine which is estimated at $60,000-up, a Fr. 198 $50 Interest Bearing Note, a Fr. 212d $50 Interest Bearing Note, a pair of $100 Silver Certificates, 3 $500 Gold Notes and 3 $1000 Gold Notes, two of which are newly discovered and offered here for the first time. Saturday afternoon's session is solely devoted to CAA's best ever offering of Confederate currency, highlighted by the complete type set assembled over two decades by Frank Kennedy of Alabama. Not only is this offering complete by type, but devotees of Confederate material will have a chance to feast on numerous rarities, including four high grade T-5's, four T-6's, three T-12's, and two nice T-15's. The fifth and final session is scheduled for Saturday evening, and will host an extraordinary run of 1800 lots of National Bank Notes from every state and four Territories. Highlighted by the Florida collection's over 50 serial number 1 notes, Frank Kennedy's collection of Alabama notes, the Rome Collection of over 200 Georgia Notes, including many rarities never before offered at public sale, the Monty Farmer Mississippi collection, and Dustinn Gibson's incredible collection of Oregon Large Size Nationals, there are also significant selections from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Idaho, New Mexico, New York, and South Carolina. There is a Blue Seal on Fairbanks, Alaska), a newly discovered large example from Woodlake, California, a quartet of rare National Gold Bank Notes, a gorgeous Gem Uncirculated $1 from Pueblo, Colorado Territory, an unreported $1 example from Thompson, Connecticut, a newly discovered example from the Baldwin NB of Kahului, Hawaii Territory, a trio of newly discovered New Mexico Territorials including a $10 Red Seal from Lake Arthur, and a serial number 1 First Charter from Chester, South Carolina The 2 Volume Catalogues for this sale are available for $30 and may be ordered from CAA-Heritage, c/o Sonia Magdaleno, 100 Highland Park Village, Suite 200, Dallas, TX 78205 or you can call Sonia at 800 US COINS x 275. All of the lots in the sale are illustrated in full color on the Heritage web site. For further information about this sale, or about consigning to future Heritage-CAA sales, the next of which will take place at the Central States Numismatic Society convention in May of 2004, please contact Allen Mincho at (800) 872-6467, ext. 327, Len Glazer at (800) 872-6467, ext. 390, or Kevin Foley at (800) 872-6467, ext. 256.

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Highlights of the collection include several high grade P-L Mercury dimes including a 1941-S NGC graded MS 68 FB PL, numerous Washington quarters and Walking Liberty and Franklin half dollars denoted as PL, and even a PL 1867 three-cent nickel and 1883-NC nickel.

According to Mr. Paul, "My fascination with proof-like coins began when I was seven or eight years old. My mother's beauty shop was next to the bank in Glenside, PA. To get me out of her hair she would drop me off with the bank manager and he would take me to the vault and he would let me go through the bags. I would sit on the vault floor and look for one or two dollars that I could best see my face on. The only thing that would upset my mother was when she would pick me up, she would notice how black my hands were. I can still remember staring at these coins. I still do not know why I have this fascination with mirror proof-like coins.

"By the early 1970s I started looking for proof-likes of all denominations. I started full time in the coin business in August 1973. Attending every auction and almost forty coin shows and stopping at hundreds of coin shops on three different continents. This gave unlimited access to find what I call 'The caviar of business strike coins.' I believe that proof-likes had come from the ten to one hundred coins struck off of a new die, and some of these coins look like branch-mint proofs!

"The rarest proof-like coins are Peace Dollars. In 1977, I offered five hundred dollars for any gem proof-like of any date. At the New York Metropolitan show in April 1977 I had someone come up to my bourse table and offer me two 1923 Peace Dollars. They were not gems but still absolutely proof-like, so I paid him five hundred dollars for the pair. It was an amazing price for what many people had considered a four or five dollar coin.

"The market continues to grow in knowledge and sophistication from the beginning of the Grading Services in 1986. I would submit some test proof-likes. However, nothing but Morgan Dollars and commems ever graded proof-like on the holder until June of 2003 when NGC started to put 'proof-like' on holders of all silver coins that qualified as such.

"While NGC's standards are very much in the formative stages, soon I believe they will denote proof-like on many of the coins that are not graded proof-like today. For example, at first they would not denote proof-like on any coins with die striations or a polished die, but since October of 2003 I have bought some extremely obvious mirror die striated proof-like Walking Liberty Halves and Mercury Dimes so denoted. Anyone who doubts the proof-like status of the few coins in my collection not denoted as proof-like should take one look at these coins and I believe that the doubt will disappear.

"Some of these proof-likes will be the only ones I have ever seen for the date and mint. Many are spectacular eye candy. The 1942 P mint Mercury is a really unique coin. First the P mint proof-likes of any denomination are rare, but especially so for Mercury Dimes. The 1951-S and 1954-S Half Dollars are as close to proof mirror quality as you could expect. I have not seen anything like them anywhere, for any price.

"Now that proof-like coins are being accepted by the market place and NGC, I believe that other denomination and mintmarks will soon appear. PCGS will be forced to acknowledge proof-likes as well as they will not want to cede that business. I will also continue to search myself, because the thrill I get from finding a date or mint I have never seen and showing it off gives me such an indescribable rush!

"Jim Halperin first saw my collection in February of 1980. He told me, someday we will have an auction and find out what these coins are really worth. I guess now is the time for me to take him up on that. Who knows? Someday, research could reveal that these are specially struck or specimens, as occurred in the 1970s with certain proof-like branch-mint Barber coinage."

Catalogs for this sale will be available from Heritage, c/o Sonia Magdaleno, 100 Highland Park Village, Second Floor, Dallas, TX 75205. All of the lots are displayed in full color at www.HeritageCoin.com.

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At the outset, we want to acknowledge that this coin does not come without controversy. It has been sent to PCGS, NGC, ANACS, and ICG. All four services have come to the same conclusion: "No Decision."

We are of the opinion that this is a genuine Mint product; that is to say, it was produced within the walls of the United States Mint. However, we do have our doubts about its legitimacy as far as being an unintentional by-product of the minting process.

The most succinct summation of the pros and cons of this particular coin are contained on a piece of scratch paper from ICG, dated November 3, 2003. The note reads in part: "1928 25c on cent planchet, wt 3.02 grams vs 3.11 grams spec normal range 3.05-3.16 CONS: lightweight, odd, abnormal die cracks PROS: silver specks struck into metal, good looking dies. CONCENSUS: "No Decision." These pros and cons seem like a good structure to use to critique this particular coin, and our impressions follow:

The silver specks are a most interesting aspect of this piece and are easily seen, most especially on the upper reverse above the CA in AMERICA. Dies pick up silver "dust" from repeated strikings that is then transferred to the next coin. This is not noticeable on same-metal strikings, but on off-metal strikings they can be seen as fingerprints of the dies that struck the coin.

The dies themselves that struck this particular coin do indeed look authentic. Even with the three prominent die cracks, the details are still quite sharp. It is very unusual to find Standing quarters with die cracks. In fact, we cannot remember the last time we encountered one. This particular piece has two pronounced ones on the obverse and one on the reverse. It is also unusual to locate cents that are lightweight. The ones we have weighed in the past show very little variation in weight. After considering the above factors, the conclusion we have come to after studying this piece is that it was struck in the Mint on a mostly complete fragment of a cent planchet by a pair of discarded quarter dies.

The coin itself is off-center with most of the date showing, but nothing visible above the top of the shield. The surfaces have taken on the appearance of aged copper with a deep brown and blue patina over much of each side and traces of pinkish-red around the devices. Sharply defined with a trace of rub over the highpoints. The planchet is somewhat irregular in shape, as would be expected since it was essentially struck without a collar. The devices at the margins are slightly distended, again as one would expect, as seen on other wrong planchet errors.

The pedigree of this piece is also quite interesting. This particular coin has an entire page devoted to it in Jay Cline's third edition of his book on the series. It was purchased by a Midwest collector at the 1958 ANA convention in Los Angeles for "a few hundred dollars." The collector took the coin over to a well-known Philadelphia dealer and after he did not receive an offer to his satisfaction, he took the coin home and tossed it in his safe deposit box. It wasn't until 1983 that the collector found the coin once again and showed it to Cline, who wrote an article for Coin World in September of that year and reprinted it in his book. (A photocopy of that page from the book and the handwritten note from ICG accompany this lot).

This is a most intriguing study piece for the general error specialist as well as those who collect Standing Liberty quarter errors. As we said above, this coin is not without controversy, and it will surely continue to generate excited debate and speculation whenever it is shown in numismatic circles.

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