Silver disme linked to George Washington commands almost $1 million

One of the jewels of Americas earliest coinage recently made a strong run toward the $1 million mark, while another 18^th-century rare coin brought in almost three-quarters of a million dollars.

A 1792 silver disme pattern, certified at AU50 by NGC and one of only three known pieces classified as Judd 9, commanded $998,750. The other two silver dismes most recently sold for $458,250 (XF Details NGC) and $329,000 (Fine 15 NGC), respectively.

The name Judd refers to famed numismatic scholar and collector J. Hewitt Judd, author of United States Pattern Coins, Experimental & Trial Pieces. In addition to having once been owned by Judd himself, this coin was more recently part of the Donald Groves Partrick Collection. The $998,750 price matched that of the record amount the coin got when sold in early 2015.

Another 1792 coin, a copper disme pattern with reeded edge, garnered $705,000. Classified as a Judd 10 and certified as Specimen 64 brown by PCGS, it is one of only 18 reeded-edge 1792 copper dismes known to exist.

These dismes came into being as a result of President George Washington authorization of Mint Director David Rittenhouses July 1792 request to create half cents, cents, half dismes, and dismes, engraved by Robert Birch and perhaps others. Numismatic legend has it that the silver used for these coins came from Washington himself.

Look for some more potentially eye-popping sales numbers to be announced in the coming weeks in what is shaping up to be another big year for rare coins, which have been bolstered by ongoing easy-money monetary policies and the headline-grabbing runup in gold and silver bullion prices.