Media Relations
Press Release - May 4, 2026
1879 Coiled Hair Stella Soars To $2.13 Million, 1933 Indian Eagle to $1.586 Million To Lead Heritage’s Record-Filled CSNS U.S. Coins Auction to $26.9 Million
| Result, along with $11.9 million World & Ancient Coins auction and $7.6 million U.S. Currency auction, boosts three-event total to $46.4 million DOWNLOAD DIGITAL PRESS KIT The result for the 1879 Coiled Hair Stella, Judd-1638, Pollock-1838, JD-1, R.6, PR67 Cameo NGC from the Presidio Collection, Part II eclipsed the previous auction record of $1,464,000 set at Heritage in January 2026. The 1879 Coiled Hair stella, listed among the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins, is among the rarest and most valuable issues in American numismatics, with just 14 examples documented. Entirely fresh to the market, the coin is tied for finest-certified honors and is the plate coin for the sixth edition of 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. The record — and the margin by which it surpassed the previous standard for the coin — were indicative of the exceptional results found throughout the auction. “When legendary coins and knowledgeable, passionate collectors come together, numismatic history can be rewritten, and that is exactly what was witnessed in our Central States auction,” says Todd Imhof, Executive Vice President of Heritage Auctions. “The 1879 Coiled Hair Stella that led the event is a perfect example, drawing 59 bids before reaching its record result.” The Presidio Collection also produced an 1880 Coiled Hair Stella, Judd-1660, Pollock-1860, JD-1, Low R.7, PR62 NGC that ended at $854,000 — a record for the issue in that grade. One of only a handful of surviving examples of this classic gold pattern rarity, the coin was once a highlight of prominent collections including those of Jerome Kern and Amon G. Carter. With only 10 examples documented in all grades, the 1880 Coiled Hair stella remains one of the great prizes of American gold coinage. An 1880 Flowing Hair Stella, Judd-1657, Pollock-1857, JD-1, R.6, PR65 NGC. CAC from the same collection reached $777,750 — also a record for the issue in that grade. This example, with its Eliasberg pedigree, is one of the finest of its small surviving population and is tied with one other example for finest among CAC-certified survivors. The Pizza Collection also offered an 1893-S Morgan Dollar, MS63 PCGS that realized $488,000 — a record for an example in that grade. From a series-low business-strike mintage of 100,000 pieces, the 1893-S is the acknowledged key to the Morgan dollar series and is listed among the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. Mint State examples remain especially elusive, and the coin offered here is one of just 10 graded MS63 by PCGS, with only 10 finer. A 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter, Judd-1989, Pollock-2050, R.8, PR61 NGC from the Pizza Collection brought $280,600 in only its second known auction appearance; the result eclipsed the $168,000 total brought by the same coin in 2018. Pattern Standing Liberty quarters rank among the rarest trial coins known, with examples residing only in the Smithsonian Institution and the most prestigious private collections. This example was discovered in 2018 when it arrived at Heritage in an old-time collection, masquerading as a normal 1916 quarter. Many of the coins in the auction that drew impressive results came from The Presidio Collection and the Pizza Collection — but not all. A 1932 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, MS65 PCGS brought $244,000, while an 1879 Flowing Hair Stella, Judd-1635, Pollock-1833, JD-1, R.3, PR65 PCGS. CAC closed at $219,600. Also among the new records: • $207,400: A 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter MS67 Full Head PCGS from the Pizza Collection — topping the previous record of $195,500 that was set in 2010 • $140,300: A 1926-S Quarter MS66+ Full Head PCGS. CAC from the Big Sky Collection of Standing Liberty Quarters Part II — surpassing the previous mark of $103,700 that was set by the MS66 Fill Head Quarter listed below, which immediately preceded it in the auction • $134,200: A 1917-D Quarter Type Two MS68 Full Head PCGS from the Pizza Collection — eclipsing the $73,473.50 achieved by the same coin in 2012 • $134,200: A 1918 Quarter MS68 Full Head PCGS. CAC from the Pizza Collection — more than doubling the previous record of $58,750 for the same coin in 2013 • • $122,000: An 1850 Mormon Five Dollar AU55 PCGS. CAC. K-5, High R.5 from the Presidio Collection — topping the previous record of $102,000 that was set at Heritage in 2022 • $103,700: A 1926-S Quarter MS66 Full Head PCGS. CAC — breaking the previous record of $55,200 that was set at Heritage in January 2025 • $100,650: An 1850-C Half Eagle MS64 PCGS. Winter-4 from the Presidio Collection — more than doubling the previous record of $40,200 set in 1995 Complete results can be found at can be found at HA.com/1393. Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world's largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet's most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 2 million registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of 7,000,000 past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit. For breaking stories, follow us: HA.com/Facebook and HA.com/Twitter . Link to this release or view prior press releases . Hi-Res images available: Steve Lansdale, Public Relations Specialist 214-409-1699 or SteveL@HA.com |

