The finest known of only two 1861 Philadelphia Mint Paquet Reverse Double Eagles, graded NGC MS 67, has been sold and will be publicly displayed for the first time in a decade during the January 2017 Florida United Numismatists Convention in Fort Lauderdale. It once was part of the fabled Palace Collection of King Farouk of Egypt.

1861-P Paquet $20

NGC MS 67

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Insured for $8 million, the historic gold coin will be displayed along with the Horseneck Collection of Type I Double Eagles that includes many of the finest known coins of their kind. The Horseneck Collection is also insured for $8 million, according to Adam Crum, Vice President of Monaco Rare Coins (www.MonacoRareCoins.com) in Newport Beach, California.

The 1861-P Paquet Reverse was privately sold by Brian Hendelson, President of Classic Coin Co. of Bridgewater, New Jersey, for an undisclosed price to Larry Lee, President of Coin and Bullion Reserves of Panama City, Florida.

Previous owners include Baltimore banker Waldo Newcomer, former US Treasury Secretary William Woodin, Egyptian King Farouk and Ambassador and Mrs. R. Henry Norweb.

“The Paquet Reverse $20 denomination gold coin is named after Anthony C. Paquet, a mid-19th century engraver at the United States Mint, and only a few of them are known from the Philadelphia and San Francisco Mints dated 1860 and 1861. The reverse side of Paquet design has slightly taller, slender letters than the similar reverse design by Mint engraver James B. Longacre on other Double Eagles of that era,” explained Crum, author of the reference book, An Insider’s Guide to Collecting Type I Double Eagles.

“The 46-coin Horseneck Collection of Type I Double Eagles struck from 1850 to 1866 includes a dozen coins recovered from famous shipwrecks: the 1857 sinking of the fabled ‘ship of gold,’ the SS Central America; the 1865 wreck of the SS Republic; and the 1865 sinking of the SS Brother Jonathan,” said Crum. “The set’s 1854-O is graded NGC AU 58, tied for finest known, and was recovered from the SS Republic in 2003.”