One of Only Nine Confirmed 1870-S Seated Dollar
For four weeks in the winter of 1914, the ANS sponsored an exhibit of Colonial and U.S. coins drawn from all the prominent collectors and dealers of the era. When one views the catalog of that exhibit today, the number of major rarities is simply staggering. Such an exhibit probably could not be duplicated today. Even if collectors and dealers of today would cooperate and allow their major rarities to be exhibited, the cost of insuring such an exhibit would likely be prohibitive. A review of the exhibit and catalog, as interesting as it would be, is beyond the scope of this write-up. The mention of one major rarity would slight another that would be omitted. However, it is important to note that the catalog is organized by area of specialty and interest, and then by exhibitor. The list of 27 exhibitors reads like a Who's Who in numismatics from a hundred years ago.
One of the exhibitors was H.O. Granberg, from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Granberg made his name and fortune in the railroad and mining businesses. Among the many rarities he contributed to the ANS exhibit was one in the United States Coins chapter on page 36. Under the Silver Dollars section and San Francisco Mint subsection is: "1870. Only specimen known. No record of issue in the mint. (Illustrated.)" Undoubtedly the 44-year-old Seated dollar was little noticed among the well-known rarities on display. However, one collector who did take notice was Waldo C. Newcomer, another former railroad employee who then rose to prominence in banking. Newcomer had similar collecting interests to Granberg's, and after a theft of his collection in 1913 (and sometime before 1916), he purchased both the Granberg and Heaton collections. Among the coins he purchased was the allegedly unique 1870-S silver dollar.
