In 1915 visitors from all over the world converged on a veritable new city that had been built of lath and plaster on the San Francisco shorefront. Building upon the tradition established by the 1876 Centennial Exhibition (Philadelphia), 1892-1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago), the 1900 Paris Exposition, the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, and other such events, the Pan-Pacific showcased marvels of technology, art, history, and science. The official reason for the Exposition was to celebrate San Francisco’s rebirth from the 1906 earthquake and fire and to observe the opening (in August 1914) of the Panama Canal.

After the event ended, nearly everything was torn down. An exception was the Palace of Fine Arts, which, while never intended to be a permanent structure, survived to be used to store fire engines and other municipal equipment. In recent times it has been restored. This building in 1915 was the numismatic focal point of the Exposition. Under its huge dome was Farran Zerbe’s Money of the World exhibit and, after the fair’s closing, his concession to sell the remaining Pan-Pacific coins by mail order.

Today the five different coins issued in connection with the Panama-Pacific International Exposition stand as the high water mark among American commemoratives. In connection with the present offering, it is appropriate to give a sketch of the event which caused its production. The following is excerpted from Frank Morton Todd’s book, The Story of the Exposition, published in 1921:

“On the basis of federal legislation the Exposition instituted an official Coin and Medal Department, and put it under the direction of Farran Zerbe, as past president of the American Numismatic Association. The Act of Congress provided that a series of commemorative medals, a souvenir medal, the award medal, and the diplomas, were to be produced by the government and delivered to the Exposition at face value for the coins and at cost for other items.

“In spite of the delay, whereby the coins were not ready until well after the fair opened, the Coinage Department took in $179,506 in the Exposition period, and $51,966 in the post-Exposition time. The whole net return of the Exposition’s coin and medal business after deducting the cost of materials and all administration came to $65,555.09.

“60,000 commemorative half dollars were coined, of which 34 were reserved for assay. Of the 59,966 pieces available, 27,100 were sold and 32,866 were destroyed later at the Mint. 25,034 gold dollars were coined, of which 34 were used for assay and the balance all sold. 10,017 $2.50 gold pieces were struck, of which 17 were used for assay, leaving 10,000 available. Of these 10,000 there were 6,750 sold and the rest, 3,250 pieces, were melted.

There were 1,509 of the octagonal $50 pieces made, of which nine were used for assay, 646 were actually sold and 854 went to the melting pot. There were 1,510 round $50 pieces including 10 for assay. Just 483 were sold. 1,017 were melted.

“All of the commemorative Exposition coins were struck at the San Francisco Mint and bear the “S” mintmark. For the coining of the $50 pieces a special hydraulic press weighing 14 tons, with a striking power of 450 tons, ordinarily used at the Philadelphia Mint for striking medals, was delivered to the San Francisco Mint.

“The striking of the first octagonal $50 gold piece, the largest coin ever authorized by the government, and the first minted since 1852 of any other shape than circular, was made a notable occasion at the Mint. The superintendent, Mr. T.W.H. Shanahan, extended invitations to various dignitaries and to members of the American Numismatic Association, to be present at 11:00 on the morning of June 21, 1915, when the first of these coins was struck.

“Supt. Shanahan produced the first piece, incorrectly stating that he was about to strike the first $50 coin ever issued under authority of law in the United States. [In 1851-52, $50 pieces were issued by Augustus Humbert and the U.S. Assay Office of Gold, an official government agency.] He then pulled the lever and handed the resultant coin to Mr. Moore for inspection. Moore then operated the lever for the second piece, and other members of the party took their turns at making money, keeping up the delightful exercise until lunch time….”

In the years since 1915, the Panama-Pacific coins have been highly prized by numismatists. Today, the large and impressive $50 coins are especially admired, and it is always an occasion when examples cross the auction block. The two we offer here are very attractive.

1017373994
1915-S $50 Pan-Pac Round MS-63 (PCGS).
The Round Panama-Pacific Exposition coin is one of the rarest and most popular commemorative issues of the last century. A mere 483 were sold with the balance of those struck melted as the Exposition closed. Finding a bright, lustrous and choice coin requires considerable patience, and this piece will certainly delight any specialist. The color is classic orange-gold with strong lustre in the fields. Fully struck and well preserved, on the round version offered here, Minerva’s head and helmet are slightly larger than the more compact center of the octagonal $50, and this carries forth on the reverse too where the owl is larger too, with the round format well suited to the design. Nevertheless, back in 1915 when these were issued, the octagonal style sold better if a collector could only afford one example, as that mimicked the earlier Territorial gold coins of the 1850s. The original cost of these historic coins was $100 per piece for the $50 face value, a considerable sum at the time when a high paying wage was $5 a day. A good many of the survivors show mishandling over the years, so the rarity of pieces that merit the choice grade continues to grow. An impressive and desirable example for the collector. $92,500

1085185076
1915-S $50 Pan-Pac Octagonal MS-63 (PCGS).
One of the greatest pieces of numismatic history of the 20th Century, the elegant Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 gold piece possesses a timeless aura that transcends the generations. Struck to commemorate the opening of the Panama Canal which finally relieved world shipping of the hazards of going around the far distant tip of South America or the trouble of offloading entire shiploads of cargo and going over the Isthmus of Panama to reload the cargo onto another ship. The Canal at long last joined the vast Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean, and the cost of transporting ocean bound freight fell tremendously, as well as the time required to deliver it across the world. Here in this beautiful coin that retains satiny lustre, a good strike and excellent surfaces. The octagonal version includes eight small dolphins located at the corners of the design, with Minerva at the center of the obverse with an owl gracing the reverse. $90,000