With the expected 2023 release of the revised fourth edition of my book Gold Coins of the Dahlonega Mint, 1838-1861 I thought it would be fun to write an article about the dozen greatest Dahlonega coins. This is, of course, totally my opinion and specialists will disagree with a few of the coins I’ve chosen. I’ve sold a number of these but I own none of these personally, so I technically have minimal skin in the game.

It should be stressed that not all of these are finest known. They are coins which I view as “special” due to any combination of factors: great appearance, cool pedigree, sharp strike, unusual appearance, etc.

1. The Duckor/Duke’s Creek/Bass PCGS/CAC MS64 Full Date 1855-D Gold Dollar

*1855-D Full Date $1.00 in PCGS MS64 CAC, courtesy of Heritage*

There are two exceptional 1855-D gold dollars known: this piece, and the non-CAC PCGS MS64 last owned by Steve Duckor, and then a weak date PCGS MS64 (non-CAC) last owned by Bob Simpson. I vastly prefer the Duckor/Duke’s Creek/Bass coin due to its sharper strike and overall superior quality for the date. In fact, I think this coin is a full point better than the other MS64.

The 1855-D is easily the rarest gold dollar from Dahlonega in Uncirculated with just four confirmed pieces currently known. You can make a strong case for the 1855-D being one of the absolute rarities in the entire gold dollar series in high grades, and it is a coin with multiple levels of demand as it is a one-year type and an essential coin for Dahlonega gold dollar specialists.

In its last auction appearance (as Heritage 2015 ANA: 4251) this coin realized $164,500. Today it could easily bring double—even triple—this amount.

2. The Eliasberg PCGS/CAC MS63 1861-D Gold Dollar

*The Eliasberg 1861-D $1.00 in PCGS MS63 CAC*

The obvious choice here would have been the finest known example of this celebrated Dahlonega gold dollar, the Simpson/Duke’s Creek PCGS/CAC MS64+ which is now owned by collector DL Hansen who purchased it for $180,000 as Heritage 9/2020: 10114. But I’m partial to the nice CAC approved MS63 which is ex Green Pond/Duke’s Creek/Eliasberg. It is now owned by a Philadelphia collector who I sold it to via private treaty in 2019.

What makes this coin really special (besides its originality and high level of eye appeal) is the fact that it has a continual pedigree which dates all the way back to June 1895 when John Clapp Sr. obtained it from the Bates Sale. As far as I know, this is the oldest pedigree which exists for any coin from this mint.

Around 2002, a dealer approached me with this coin and three other very significant Dahlonega coins. He had the four priced at somewhere around $150,000. I said “yes” so quickly to them that I think I scared this dealer, and re-learned a valuable coin buyer lesson: when you are offered a smoking hot deal don’t say yes too quickly as the seller will figure out that he has priced the coin(s) too cheaply(!).

3. The Sykes/James Stack 1839-D Quarter Eagle

*1839-D $2.50 in PCGS MS64 CAC, courtesy of Stack's Bowers*

Two other examples of this popular first-year-of-issue/one-year-type have also been graded MS64 (one by PCGS and one by NGC), but this example is the finest known by a full point. It first surfaced in the James B. Stack sale conducted by Stack’s (no relation to the collector) in 1994 and at that time, I felt this coin was as close to a Gem example of the 1839-D quarter eagle that we were likely to ever see.

Fast forward to August 2022 and this coin was again available. It had last sold in January 2013 for $105,750 where it was purchased by dealer Al Adams acting as agent for collector John Sykes. I expected it to bring around $150,000 and the final price realized was $164,500. It was purchased by DL Hansen; one of a number of six figure Dahlonega rarities he bought from the Stack’s Bowers sales held after the ANA convention.

This coin is a no-brainer for inclusion on this list. It is the finest known example of an issue with strong multiple levels of demand and the market for great mintmarked Classic Head gold is as strong as I can ever remember.

4. The Duke’s Creek NGC MS65 1847-D Quarter Eagle

*Duke's Creek 1847-D $2.50 NGC MS65, courtesy of Heritage*

There are a very small number of Gem quarter eagles known from the other two Southern branch mints; Charlotte and New Orleans. Dahlonega quarter eagles are exceedingly rare in MS65 and this example remains the only legitimate Gem I have ever seen.

Two MS65 1847-D quarter eagles exist; this coin and one from the Bass II sale (held in October 1999) which was graded MS64 by PCGS at the time. I handled this coin around 2002 when I sold it to the owner of the Green Pond Collection, and it was last seen in the Heritage 11/2004 sale where it brought $49,300. The other one—which I feel is significantly nicer—was sold in Heritage’s April 2006 auction where it brought $74,750 which I believe was a record price for any Liberty Head quarter eagle from this mint at the time. It was from the Duke’s Creek Collection which remains the gold standard for Dahlonega collections and which likely will never be duplicated.

This coin is perhaps not as numismatically significant as many of the others on this list, but its status as the only true Gem quarter eagle from Dahlonega makes it a coin which would attract a lot of attention (and which would fetch a strong five figure price) if it were offered for sale in 2022.

5. The Duke’s Creek/Eliasberg NGC MS65 1851-D Quarter Eagle

Unless you are a keen student of Dahlonega quarter eagles, there is a good chance that you aren’t aware that this coin even exists. It was last sold in April 2006 as part of the Duke’s Creek Collection where it brought $63,250. Ironically, it sold for exactly 10% of this amount ($6,325) when it was offered as part of the Eliasberg Collection in October 1982.

In my opinion, this coin is not as clearly a Gem as is the 1847-D quarter eagle described above. But it is a much rarer coin in higher grades and it is the finest known for the date by a mile with the next best being a small group of MS61 to MS62 coins.

If this coin were offered today, I suspect it would receive much more attention than it did back in 2006. I also suspect it would bring at least double—if not triple—what it realized in 2006 as coins of this caliber have finally gained recognition as irreplaceable trophies.

6. The Blanchard PCGS/CAC MS62 1856-D Quarter Eagle

*1856-D $2.50 PCGS MS62 CAC, courtesy of PCGS*

This is the only coin in this group which I’ve never seen in person but based on its image and where it came from, I’m confident that it qualifies.

The 1856-D has the lowest mintage figure of any Dahlonega coin with just 874 struck. It is slightly more available than this tiny number would suggest with around 50 or so known. What makes this issue especially interesting is the difficulty in grading it as most of the coins are seen with terrible strikes and poor quality planchets.

I became aware of this finest known piece when an image of it appeared on PCGS Coinfacts. A little more legwork showed that it was sold to a client of Blanchard & Company for $180,000 (the price listed on that firm’s website). A few months later, a PCGS/CAC AU58 1856-D brought $144,000 as Stack’s Bowers 8/2022: 6063, which means that the buyer of the higher graded coin got a truly good deal.

7. The Sykes/Pogue 1854-D Three Dollar, Graded MS62 by PCGS/CAC

*1854-D $3.00 PCGS MS62 CAC, courtesy of Stack's Bowers*

Given that it recently set a world-record for a single Dahlonega coin ($528,000) it should come as no surprise that this coin made the list.

It is hard to come up with a more popular Dahlonega issue than the 1854-D Three Dollar. It is a one-year type with a low mintage of 1,120. It is more available than generally believed with an estimated 125-150 known including three or four dozen AU coins; a number of which are solid AU55 to AU58s. In Uncirculated, this date is major rarity with three Uncirculated pieces known to me, of which this PCGS/CAC MS62 is clearly the finest.

I doubt if anyone—myself included—was expecting this coin to cross the $500,000 threshold when it was sold in the Stack’s Bowers 2022 ANA sale of the Sykes Collection. It had last brought $188,000 in the February 2016 sale of the Pogue Collection of Three Dollar gold pieces. It was purchased by DL Hansen who has assembled likely the single finest set of business strike Threes in numismatic history.

8. The Milas/James Stack Gem 1841-D Half Eagle, NGC MS65+

A Mint State 1841-D $5.00 from the DWN archives — *a Mint State 1841-D $5.00 from the DWN archives*

There are as many as a half dozen really nice 1841-D half eagles known; in this case “really nice” meaning MS63 and finer. One of these, however, towers above the rest and qualifies for inclusion on this list.

As with a few other coins on this list, this Gem 1841-D $5 surfaced in Stack’s sale of the James Stack Collection in October 1994; which I believe was a record price for any Dahlonega coin at that time. It was purchased by dealer Ed Milas for his personal set of No Motto half eagles, and it was sold in the Stack’s May 1995 Milas Collection sale for $68,750. It then made its way into the Duke’s Creek Collection where it has resided ever since.

This coin has been graded MS65 by PCGS and MS65+ by NGC. While it has been over 20 years since I last saw this coin, I think it is spectacular and it could easily sell for a strong six-figure price if it were made available.

9. The Pogue/Bass/Norweb 1845-D Half Eagle, PCGS/CAC MS65

*1845-D $5.00 PCGS MS65 CAC, courtesy of PCGS*

There are just a handful of Dahlonega coins of any denomination which are solid Gems and this famous Gem 1845-D half eagle is a member of this elite group. It has a pedigree dating back to 1956 when it was obtained by the Norweb family from New Netherlands Coin Company. It brought $66,000 in the October 1987 Norweb Sale, and it was purchased by Harry Bass who held it until October 1999 when it brought a reasonable $57,500. I bought the coin in 2000 and sold it to the Green Pond Collection. It eventually was purchased by Brent Pogue (I believe it was the single Dahlonega coin ever purchased by Brent), and last traded for $96,000 in March 2020.

This coin is noteworthy for its superb rich orange-gold color and it’s extremely choice surfaces. It is the finest known for the date (an NGC MS64+ resides in the Duke’s Creek Collection), but its ultimate value is as a type coin which is exactly how Brent Pogue saw it.

When this coin sold in March 2020, I remember thinking that $96,000 seemed like a pretty strong price for this coin. As I sit and type this article—not even three years later—the price seems really reasonable.

10. The Duke’s Creek 1846-D/D Half Eagle Graded MS66 by NGC

*a Mint State 1846-D/D $5.00 from the DWN archives*

This is among the least well known of the elite dozen Dahlonega coins which are included in this group. It surfaced in the Stack’s March 1993 sale where it brought just $41,800 as a raw coin. It was later graded MS65 by PCGS and then gradeflated to an MS66 at NGC.

This is the only coin in this group that I can’t recall having closely viewed (or owned). I am certain that I viewed it back in the 2010s when another dealer and I were offered the Duke’s Creek set on half eagles intact. I remember liking this coin at its PCGS grade, and thinking that the coin had excellent luster and choice surfaces.

11. The Duke’s Creek NGC MS67★ 1854-D Half Eagle

There were a number of really incredible No Motto half eagles in the Ed Milas collection, and this might well have been the single best of them.

Remarkably, this coin sold for just $19,800 when it was offered by Stack’s as Lot 1346 in their session of Auction ’84, whereas it brought a much more respectable (at the time) $71,500 a decade—as an NGC MS65) later in the March 1995 Milas Sale. From there, it found its way into the Duke’s Creek Collection where it remains today.

This coin is remarkable. It has just about the best luster I can recall having seen on virtually any Dahlonega half eagle, and it is very well made for an issue which is often not well struck and which can be very weak at the borders.

12. The Duke’s Creek/Eliasberg 1861-D Half Eagle Graded MS64 by NGC.

The appeal of this coin can be explained easily: it is the finest known example of the rarest and most popular half eagle from Dahlonega.

Viewed from an overall and high-grade perspective, the availability of this issue surprises many collectors. It seems certain that a number of these were saved (as were 1861-D dollars) by Southerners as souvenirs, and there are more reasonably high-grade examples known than expected. But there are only three known which grade MS63 or finer and one of these—the PCGS MS63 Bass/Norweb/Farouk coin—sold this summer (8/2022) for a record-setting $336,000.

The best 1861-D $5 remains the NGC MS64 Duke’s Creek coin which hasn’t traded at auction since 1987, and which brought a reasonable $37,400 when it was offered in the 1982 sale of the Eliasberg Collection. Today, this coin might bring $500,000 or possibly even more.

As I sit and summarize this article, I’m taken aback by the presence of at least six coins from the Duke’s Creek Collection out of a total of a dozen great pieces. That collection was truly special and no amount of time or money could likely produce a finer set of Dahlonega coinage.

A few other names were mentioned more than once, and these include Harry Bass, Ed Milas, James Stack, Louis Eliasberg, and John Sykes. A shout out to each of you.