W. David Perkins and Andy Lustig report that they have purchased the extensive Miller early U.S. silver dollar collection and will begin offering it for sale. The coins will be available for viewing and sale at the upcoming Whitman Baltimore Show.
Original images courtesy of W. David Perkins and Andy Lustig.
The following is a provided press release:
W. David Perkins and Andy Lustig Purchase the Miller Collection of Early Dollars 1794-1803
W. David Perkins and Andy Lustig are excited to announce that they have purchased the extensive Miller early U.S. silver dollar collection and will begin offering it for sale. The coins will be available for viewing and sale at the upcoming Whitman Baltimore Show Wednesday through Saturday, November 4-7, 2015 at Table 818 (The table is listed under W. David Perkins, Numismatist).
Background and the Collection
Imagine collecting the early United States Silver Dollars 1794-1803 for over 30 years, and being the first and only person to complete a set of the business strike early dollars by die marriage with every Bolender (B) and Bowers’ Borckardt (BB) number. Warren Miller accomplished this feat approximately a decade ago, completing the set by die marriage in 2005. From 2005 to the present, selected coins were upgraded and die states were added. Miller branched out and added errors, including numerous double and triple struck early dollars. Today the collection consists of over 160 early dollars in total.
The collection was started in 1983 with the purchase of three different dates of Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle Dollars from a local coin shop. On the next visit to the shop, Miller was given a copy of the Bolender book on early dollars 1794-1803 and as they say, the “rest is history!” Miller went on to acquire all of the 118 known die marriages over the next 22 years. Perkins was able to purchase the Unique 1795 B-19, BB-19 Dollar from the grandson of Frank M. Stirling, and sold it to Miller, enabling Miller to complete the die variety set in 2005. In the last year, two new die marriages have been discovered bringing the number of total known business strike die marriages to 120.
All of the coins are graded by PCGS, and the set overall averages “Almost Uncirculated” in grade, with specimens ranging from Good (a Double Struck Flowing Hair Dollar) to MS63. The majority of the coins are graded in the XF-AU range, with many unique die marriages, Finest Known and Condition Census Specimens, Plate Coins, and Late Die States. Many of these coins resided at one time in the great collections of the past – Atwater, Eliasberg, Stickney, Amon Carter, Bolender, Ostheimer, Frank Stirling, K. P. Austin, W. G. Baldenhofer, Spies, Reiver, James Matthews, and others. PCGS photos are available for all but a few of the coins in the collection.
The Miller Collection has been listed as the #1 Collection in the JRCS Census for many years. The “Date and Major Type” portion of the Miller Collection was the top collection in the PCGS Registry for early dollars for 2014 and 2015, the only two years it was listed. You can find it under EARLY DOLLARS WITH MAJOR VARIETIES AND SILVER PLUG, CIRCULATION STRIKES (1794-1803), or click on the following link: http://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/composite.aspx?c=123
For additional information, please contact Dave Perkins at wdperki@attglobal.net or cell phone 303-902-5366.
