Silas Stanley Roberts was a collector at a time in which “finding a superior instance was often less important than filling the hole” in an album. This is evident from the Stack’s Bowers Galleries June catalogue.
“Survivors remember him as a trickster, pulling out things from behind his grandchildren’s ears and giving them cash to say, ‘Do you suppose you could’.
Some of his more accessible pieces included a 1919-S Walking Liberty quarter dollar graded Uncirculated Details and Harshly Cleaned By Professional Coin Grading Service, which sold for $1,980.
Stack’s Bowers wrote that “This less expensive example of Walking Liberty half-dollars represents a significant finding for the budget-minded Walking Liberty half-dollar enthusiast.” He observed luster along with “wisps” of iridescent copper apricot drift across both surfaces. This is what led to the PCGS qualifier, which the service uses to identify coins that have been subjected to severe or abrasive cleaning.
