Stack’s Bowers Rarities Night tops US$26.3 million

Numismatic News (11 September 2026) reports that the Rarities Night session of Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction, in Costa Mesa, California, closed at US$26,305,945 — buyer’s premium included — after more than eight hours of bidding across 631 lots. The firm calls it a night of records across nearly every area of the sale.

An «Inverted Jenny» locket opens the night

The first lot was a locket holding an example of the «Inverted Jenny» stamp, given by collector Col. Edward H.R. Green to his wife. It realized US$439,200, more than 2.5 times the price it had achieved in May 2015. Fifty-five lots later came the session’s highest price of the night.

The Norweb dime, on top

The 1894-S dime, with Norweb provenance, graded Proof-63 by PCGS and approved by both CAC and CMQ, realized US$1,250,550. That is the figure Numismatic News gives for the night’s top result; earlier coverage of the same sale by Infobae and by Contexto Tucumán, sourced from the same firm, had put it at US$1,250,500, fifty dollars less. Notofilia already covered that sale in the note on the 1894-S dime.

«Strong prices were realized across every area of Rarities Night,» said Brian Kendrella, president of Stack’s Bowers Galleries, as quoted by Numismatic News. «Total prices realized far exceeded our presale estimates, and numerous new records were established. Although the rare coin market has followed an upward trajectory for the past several years, the strength demonstrated in this sale was extraordinary. Even our team of experts, with hundreds of years of combined experience and daily involvement in the marketplace, was astonished by the new price levels established throughout the evening.»

Other records from the session

A sample of the prices the firm cites, all buyer’s-premium-inclusive:

• Lot 2086. 1796 Draped Bust Half Dollar, Small Eagle, O-102/T-2, Rarity-5+, 16 Stars, MS-63 (NGC), CAC, CMQ-X, ex Col. Green and Eric Newman: US$671,000, a record for the grade and more than US$200,000 above the previous record.
• Lot 2519. 1876 Liberty Head Double Eagle, JD-1, Rarity-6, Proof-64 (PCGS), CAC, OGH: US$439,200, a world record for any regular-issue Proof 1876 double eagle.
• Lot 2613. 1851 Augustus Humbert $50, Lettered Edge, K-1, Rarity-6+, AU-58+ (PCGS), CMQ: US$317,200, a record for the issue, above the previous record, which had been set by a Mint State example.
• Lot 2062. 1796 Draped Bust Quarter, B-2, Rarity-3, MS-62 (NGC), Gold CAC, CMQ-X, OH: US$292,800, exceeding prices for MS-63 and MS-64 examples.
• Lot 2185. Space-flown 22-karat gold «flown to space» 2000-W pattern Sacagawea dollar, Judd-2190, Rarity-7, Proof-69 Deep Cameo (PCGS): US$390,400, above the US$360,001 it had brought in September 2025.
• Lot 2205. 1808 Capped Bust Left Quarter Eagle, BD-1, Rarity-4, AU-58 (PCGS): US$219,600, a record for this one-year-only type in AU-58 grade.

More detail, with the full list of results, in Numismatic News (opens in a new tab).