Owner Comments:
1926 Chile Gold 50 Pesos MS64
Provenance Louis Eliasberg (1896-1976)
Previous from the estate of John H. Clapp (1880-1940).
The quality is outstanding and provenance is impeccable.
Let's start with the quality, the coin is graded MS64 by NGC, but this is an old grade that goes back to Stack's 2005 Eliasberg Sale, this grade might not reflect todays grading standards.
The coin is fully prooflike, and are dearly noted so by the Stack's cataloguer in 2005, "highly reflective fields on both sides. Die polish lines are visible".
The coin show no evidence of circulation, only scattered bag marks, but remember, the coin were produced in Chile at the Santiago mint, most likely the bag marks are from its trip to America at that time.
Provenance of this piece is the best one can acquire in the market. It basically goes back to the day it was minted via John. H Clapp.
While it's labeled Eliasberg on the holder, the coin comes from the coin collection Eliasberg bought from the Clapp family in 1942.
The Clapp coin collection are among the most famous ones in the USA, it was all started by John Martin Clapp (1835-1906).
In 1906 when he passed away, his son John H. clapp continued the collection, but went another direction than his father. John H. Clapp's main focus were now Central and South American gold coins.
With two of the most famous American coin collectors of all time (Louis Eliasberg and John H. Clapp), tied to this coin, one can not ask for a better provenance.