Three choice lots from upcoming Heritage auctions
Video Games
A remarkable piece of gaming history, this hardware represents Sony’s first foray into the world of video game consoles. The PlayStation SCPH-1000 console is the very first designed by Sony, launched in Japan on December 3, 1994. The pioneering model marks the beginning of the PlayStation era, revolutionizing the industry through its visionary adoption of the CD-ROM format, its pivotal role in the rise of 3D gaming and the establishment of legendary gaming franchises.
PlayStation Console VGA 90 NM+/MT Qualified [First Production, SCPH-1000], PS1 Sony 1994 JPN
Auction: February 21-22
U.S. Coins
There was little commercial demand for nickels in the national economy in 1880 as many small-denomination silver coins that had been hoarded during the Civil War era were returned to circulation when the Mint began accepting paper money at par again in 1879. Accordingly, only 16,000 Shield nickels were struck at the Philadelphia Mint that year, and the 1880 is the rarest business-strike issue of the popular series. Mint State examples like the present coin are especially elusive.
1880 Shield Nickel, MS65
Auction: February 27-March 2
Illustration Art
English-born artist Bernhard Gillam arrived in America in 1866 and in 1881 joined the staff of Puck, where he produced influential cartoons on American politics. This original work, published in the August 8, 1883, issue of Puck, starkly illustrates the centuries-old conflict between the interests of the moneyed and laboring classes. The prosperous capitalist sports a mason’s trowel and fancy dress while the working man ascends the ladder of “Poverty” to bring him his bags of gold.
Bernhard Gillam A Fair Division of Labor-But Not a Fair Division of Its Benefits, Puck magazine interior, 1883
Auction: February 26