The 1870 James B. Longacre Sale

Of all the Chief Engravers of the Mint, Longacre was the best archivist, putting aside extensive collections of both papers and coins. The papers are today in the Library Company of Philadelphia and have been explored by Michael Moran and Jeff Garrett (1849: The Philadelphia Mint Strikes Gold) and others. To be sure, work remains, and the Library Company recently offered an internship to improve their catalog descriptions of the Longacre papers. The Library Company also holds an important group of pattern pieces from the Longacre estate, which have been published by John Dannreuther, Saul Teichman, and other writers.

However, the lion's share of the Longacre coins were sold by his estate in 1870. Presented by M. Thomas, the sale included 119 lots of U.S. patterns, in addition to an 1850 double eagle described as proof, and 56 lots of "composition casts, impressions of dies, steel plates, etc." It seems likely that surviving Longacre pieces (such as the 2023 Heritage Auctions example, pictured here) originate from this sale. Had this group survived as a whole, we would likely have greater insight into the evolution of the coinage and Mint medal designs of this period. Still, the Longacre estate is to be credited for preserving the material that today resides in the Library Company, the largest such group associated with a Mint Engraver.

Newman Portal features three copies of the Longacre sale catalog, including one recently discovered in the Newman library remainders. The three copies (two from the American Numismatic Society) are variously annotated with prices and names. The additional copies are accessible via the left column of the catalog landing page ("IAID 1" and "IAID 2").

Image: Longacre wax models featuring the Indian Princess and agricultural wreath designs (Heritage Auctions, February 9, 2023, lot 3669, realized $33,600).

Link to the M. Thomas sale catalog of the Longacre collection, January 21, 1870, on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctionlots?AucCoId=511814&AuctionId=515574