1852/1 $10 Augustus Humbert MS(PCGS#10190)

February 2026 Showcase Auction - The James A. Stack, Sr. Collection Part II

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

23056

Grade

MS62

Price

204,000

Lot Description

A singular example of this rare issue, the only Mint State example certified by PCGS at any level.<p><p>Even light yellow gold surfaces show reflective luster and profound frost on both sides. The long diagonal reverse crack that condemned this marriage to an early end is fully developed, and the 1852/1 recutting (along with recutting elsewhere) is plainly seen. Both sides are all but pristine aside from light, subtle hairlines. A short scratch at the tip of the eagle's beak is the only notable contact mark on the obverse, and the few on the reverse are both tiny and well hidden. The eye appeal is spectacular for the grade.<p><p>Finding a finer specimen would take an act of nature. This is the only Mint State example certified by PCGS in any grade and the only CAC-approved Mint State coin graded by any service. The Kagin-McCarthy book notes that "there are between 50 and 75 examples known today, 13 of which were discovered on the <em>S.S. Central America</em>. There are a handful of examples graded mint state, and any fully original AU58 would qualify for the condition census." Once you view this fully original coin, you'd be happy to have it in your hand and leave the others to someone else.<p><p>Even the most advanced specialists have likely never seen an 1852/1 Humbert $10 like this, as it was last offered well over a century ago. It appears to be one of Hillyer Ryder's earliest territorial gold purchases, acquired from the 1913 sale of the collection of Malcolm N. Jackson. Cataloged by Wayte Raymond during his days at the United States Coin Company, it is now most remembered for its uniform high condition. Based upon Raymond's introduction, he could have seen that coming:<p><p><em>Mr. Malcolm N. Jackson, who gathered the superb collection of coins catalogued and described in the following pages, is a resident of Brookline, Massachusetts, and a member of the firm of Francis Henshaw & Co., stock brokers of Boston.</em><p><p><em>He began to collect coins about the year 1888, and though for a few years he collected only the commoner pieces, for the last ten years he has confined himself to securing what is probably the nearest approach to a complete collection of the different denominations of United States Coins and their branch mints that has ever been offered for public competition.</em><p><p><em>Mr. Jackson's aim was to secure the finest specimens possible, and to this end he was a most liberal purchaser both at auction and private sale.</em><p><p><p>Raymond described this coin as "the excessively rare variety with the broken reverse die, only a few specimens known. Uncirculated, brilliant mint luster," a description that Ryder essentially copied when he inscribed his ticket "Uncirculated / brilliant mint luster" on one side and "Broken rev. die, few specimens known" on the other.<p><p>This denomination was first conceived in 1851, but confirmation from Washington that coinage of $10 and $20 "small denomination" could commence didn't arrive until the following year. These were first struck in February 1852, and this overdated die was undoubtedly the first put into service, a match for the 1852/1 $20 coins struck under the same circumstances. It's been over a decade since we've offered one of these in any grade; the last, in March 2014, was graded PCGS VF-20. This denomination saw heavy circulation while these coins fulfilled a desperate need in commerce. The fact that this coin was spared from that is remarkable. We haven't offered an example certified AU or better since 2004.