Saul Teichman writes:

More than 150 rarities from the pattern coinage collection of the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society will be sold April 25 at the Central States Numismatic Society Annual Convention's Official Auction, presented by Heritage Auctions in Schaumburg, Ill.

Eric Newman is a legendary numismatic researcher and founding member of the CSNS.

Items being sold are from the extensive collection of Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society (a Missouri not-for-profit corporation) and have been assembled over a period of 90 years.

Proceeds of the sale of all items will be used exclusively for the benefit of other not-for-profit institutions selected by the Society and also for supplementing the Society's own museum operations and scholarly research efforts.

"It is a great honor for us to offer this collection," said Jim Halperin, co-chairman of Heritage. "Eric P. Newman is a titan of numismatics and one of the hobby's greatest treasures.

This sale will help many worthy causes, including Eric's tradition of adding to our knowledge about the history of money. The Newman family's generosity is nothing short of inspiring." Newman co-authored The Fantastic 1804 Dollar, the first comprehensive work on the mysterious and much-loved coins, and was the last person to own all five examples of another famous rarity, the 1913 Liberty nickel.

Through books and countless articles for numismatic periodicals, he has shared his knowledge with several generations of collectors.

The centenarian Newman remains active in numismatic research. He and his wife of more than 70 years, Evelyn, established the Newman Money Museum on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.; Newman attended Washington University's School of Law, receiving his Juris Doctor in 1935, and practiced law for more than a half century.

Though Newman is most famous for his work with early American coins and currency, he also assembled an extensive pattern collection. One of the rarest offerings is a 1915 Panama-Pacific half dollar without "S" mintmark, the Judd-1961 variety struck in silver, graded PR-65 by NGC. A companion piece, the Judd-1962, is identical except that it was struck in copper and is graded PR-66+ Red and Brown by NGC.

"Pattern coins of the 20th century are rare, and opportunities to own them rarer still," said Halperin. "The 1915 Panama-Pacific half dollars without mintmarks were struck in gold, silver, and copper, but for each metal, fewer than four examples are known."

An 1879 "quintuple stella" or $20 pattern has the proposed coin's weight and composition spelled out between stars on the obverse in the style of the $4, or "stella," patterns of the same year. The Newman example of the very rare Judd-1644 variety, struck in copper, is graded PR-64+ Red and Brown by NGC.

To read the complete article, see:Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society Sells Patterns(www.numismaster.com/ta/numis/Article.jsp?ad=article&ArticleId=26606)