Rare Coin Wholesalers

Last updated
Rare Coin Wholesalers
Type Private
Headquarters Irvine, California, U.S.
Key people
 Steven Contursi
President
Website www.rcw1.com

Rare Coin Wholesalers is a rare-coin company that specializes in United States rare coins. Located in Irvine, California, Rare Coin Wholesalers buys, sells, appraises and trades rare coins and precious metals. [1] Originally established as a S.L. Contursi company in 1990, [2] the owners have bought and sold over two billion dollars' worth of rare coins. [1]

Contents

Rare Coin Wholesalers sustains a rotating inventory of tens of millions of dollars' worth of rare numismatic coins. [3] RCW has either owned or participate in the purchase and sale of a majority of the “100 Greatest U.S. Coins” published by Whitman Publishing. [3] The Neil/Carter/Contursi 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar, [4] the King of Siam Proof Set [5] and the Unique 1787 Brasher Doubloon [6] are just a few of the rarities that RCW has had in its inventory. [7]

Notable transactions

In March 2004, the American Numismatic Association and the company's president, Steven Contursi, a professional numismatist since 1975, exposed new evidence about “Uncle Sam’s first buck.” [8] This specific coin, named the Neil/Carter/Contursi specimen 1794 Flowing Hair Dollar, [9] is believed by most experts to be the first silver dollar stuck in the U.S. Mint. In May 2010, Contursi sold the Neil/Carter/Contursi 1794 Silver Dollar for $7.85 million to the Josh Galt Group, which at the time, set a world record for the highest amount ever paid for any single coin. [10]

In December 2011, the unique Brasher Doubloon, the first gold coin made for the young United States, was sold by Steven L. Contursi of Laguna Beach, California, to Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC) of Far Hills, New Jersey. An undisclosed Wall Street investment firm subsequently has purchased it from Blanchard and Company of New Orleans, Louisiana for a record price of nearly $7.4 million, the most money ever paid for this historic rare coin. [11] Most recently, Steve Contursi donated the 1792 Half Disme, an early American coin valued at more than $220,000, to the ANA's Money Museum. [12]

In late December 2011, Steven L. Contursi, President of Rare Coin Wholesalers, donated a 1792 half disme, graded NGC About Uncirculated 58, to the American Numismatic Association's Edward C. Rochette Money Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Contursi said he donated his coin to the ANA unrestricted, "with no strings attached," explaining that it was his way of "giving back" to an association he has "always believed in." When Contursi donated his coin, he was unaware that the example of the famed rarity was missing and presumed stolen from the museum's collection, which was later disclosed by ANA officials on January 19. Contursi has bought and sold a number of examples of the 1792 half disme during his career, ranging from the finest known, graded Mint State 68, to circulated specimens. In fact, he currently has one that grades MS-65 in his collection. [13]

Steve Contursi purchased a 1907 gold coin that experts have called the most beautiful in U.S. currency on June 29, 2012. The coin, a Proof Ultra High Relief double eagle, was designed at the turn of the century by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens after a request from President Theodore Roosevelt to bring more beauty into American coin design.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dime (United States coin)</span> Current denomination of United States currency

The dime, in United States usage, is a ten-cent coin, one tenth of a United States dollar, labeled formally as "one dime". The denomination was first authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Numismatic Association</span> Numismatic association based in the US

The American Numismatic Association (ANA) is an organization founded in 1891 by George Francis Heath. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, it was formed to advance the knowledge of numismatics along educational, historical, and scientific lines, as well as to enhance interest in the hobby.

<i>The Numismatist</i> Monthly publication of the American Numismatic Association

The Numismatist is the monthly publication of the American Numismatic Association. The Numismatist contains articles written on such topics as coins, tokens, medals, paper money, and stock certificates. All members of the American Numismatic Association receive the publication as part of their membership benefits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Half dime</span> Former United States five-cent silver coin

The half dime, or half disme, was a silver coin, valued at five cents, formerly minted in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doubloon</span> Two-escudo or 32-real gold coin

The doubloon was a two-escudo gold coin worth approximately $4 or 32 reales, and weighing 6.766 grams of 22-karat gold . Doubloons were minted in Spain and the viceroyalties of New Spain, Peru, and Nueva Granada. As the Spanish escudo succeeded the heavier gold excelente as the standard Spanish gold coin, the doubloon therefore succeeded the doble excelente or double-ducat denomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pattern coin</span> Sample coin to demonstrate the design of a coin

A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release, but produced to evaluate a proposed coin design. They are often off-metal strike, to proof standard or piedforts. Many coin collectors collect and study pattern coins because of their historical importance. Many of the world's most valuable coins are pattern coins; nearly 25 of the pieces listed in 100 Greatest US Coins are pattern coins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flowing Hair dollar</span> Coin minted by the United States from 1794 to 1795

The Flowing Hair dollar was the first dollar coin issued by the United States federal government. The coin was minted in 1794 and 1795; its size and weight were based on the Spanish dollar, which was popular in trade throughout the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1913 Liberty Head nickel</span> Rare United States coin

The 1913 Liberty Head nickel is an American five-cent piece which was produced in extremely limited quantities unauthorized by the United States Mint, making it one of the best-known and most coveted rarities in American numismatics. In 1972, one specimen of the five cent coin became the first coin to sell for over US$100,000; in 1996, another specimen became the first to sell for over US$1 million. A specimen was sold for US$3 million in a 2004 private sale, then resold for US$3.7 million at a public auction in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1792 half disme</span> American silver coin

The 1792 half disme is an American silver coin with a face value of five cents which was minted in 1792. Although it is subject to debate as to whether this was intended to be circulating coinage or instead an experimental issue, President George Washington referred to it as "a small beginning" and many of the coins eventually were released into circulation. It is widely considered the first United States coinage struck under authority of the Coinage Act of 1792.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brasher Doubloon</span> American doubloon

The Brasher Doubloon is a rare American doubloon of eight escudos worth sixteen dollars, privately minted in and after 1787.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbian half dollar</span> United States commemorative coin

The Columbian half dollar is a coin issued by the Bureau of the Mint in 1892 and 1893. The first traditional United States commemorative coin, it was issued both to raise funds for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and to mark the quadricentennial of the first voyage to the Americas of Christopher Columbus, whose portrait it bears. The Columbian half dollar was the first American coin to depict a historical person.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farran Zerbe</span> American numismatist (1871–1949)

Joseph Farran Zerbe was an American coin collector and dealer who was the president of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) in 1908 and 1909. He served as chief numismatist at the World's Fairs in St. Louis (1904), Portland (1905), and San Francisco (1915).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Numismatic Collection</span> National coin cabinet of the United States

The National Numismatic Collection is the national coin cabinet of the United States. The collection is part of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Eckfeldt</span> Second chief coiner of the United States Mint

John Adam Eckfeldt was a worker and official during the first years of the United States Mint. A lifelong Philadelphian, Eckfeldt served as the second chief coiner of the Mint, from 1814 until 1839.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turban Head eagle</span> US ten-dollar gold piece (1795–1804)

The Turban Head eagle, also known as the Capped Bust eagle, was a ten-dollar gold piece, or eagle, struck by the United States Mint from 1795 to 1804. The piece was designed by Robert Scot, and was the first in the eagle series, which continued until the Mint ceased striking gold coins for circulation in 1933. The common name is a misnomer; Liberty does not wear a turban but a cap, believed by some to be a pileus or Phrygian cap : her hair twisting around the headgear makes it resemble a turban.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Contursi</span> American numismatist

Steven L. Contursi is an American businessman and numismatist. He is the founder and president of Rare Coin Wholesalers. In the past 38 years, Steve Contursi has bought and sold over $1 billion worth of rare United States coins.

Flowing Hair coinage was issued in the United States between 1793 and 1795. The design was used for the first half dime, half dollar, dollar, and the first two large cents.

Blanchard and Company, Inc. is an investment firm specializing in rare coins and precious metals, including gold bars, silver coins and bars, platinum, and palladium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B. Max Mehl</span> American coin dealer (1884–1957)

Benjamin Maximillian Mehl, usually known as B. Max Mehl, was an American dealer in coins, selling them for over half a century. The most prominent dealer in the United States, through much of the first half of the 20th century, he is credited with helping to expand the appeal of coin collecting from a hobby for the wealthy to one enjoyed by many.

References

  1. 1 2 "Rare Coin Wholesalers". Rarecoinwholesalers.com (official website). Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  2. ↑ "BBB Business Review: Rare Coin Wholesalers". Los Angeles Better Business Bureau. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  3. 1 2 Rare Coin Wholesalers. "Rare Coin Wholesalers". Irvine: Rare Coin Wholesalers, 2010. Print.
  4. ↑ "1794 silver dollar sells for record $7.85 mn". The Economic Times. May 21, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  5. ↑ Muir, Jennifer. "California Man Makes Largest Single Coin Transaction in U.S. History." The Orange County Register 17 Nov. 2005. Print.
  6. ↑ Adelson, Andrea. "$3 Million Buys a Coin Held by Geo. Washington." The Laguna Beach Independent 4 Feb. 2005. Print.
  7. ↑ "Rare Coin Wholesalers. About". Rcw1.com. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
  8. ↑ Wilson, Amy. "Silver Piece, Golden Potential." OC Register 2 Aug. 2003. Print.
  9. ↑ Healey, Matthew (May 23, 2010). "$7.85 Million for U.S. Coin, and Extra for a Stamp". The New York Times. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  10. ↑ "1794 silver dollar sells for record $7.85 million". Today.msnbc.msn.com. May 20, 2010. Archived from the original on May 24, 2010. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
  11. ↑ Contursi, Steven L. (2011-12-19). "Unique, Early American Brasher Doubloon Gold Coin Sold for Record Price". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
  12. ↑ "Money Museum receives 1792 Half Disme from California coin dealer". American Numismatic Association. January 25, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  13. ↑ "CONTURSI DONATES 1792 HALF DISME TO ANA MONEY MUSEUM". Coin World. February 13, 2012. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2012.

Additional sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.