The recently-concluded Stack’s Bowers “Hendricks” sale contained an impressive run of high-grade Type One Liberty Head double eagles. This included a strong run of dates for which the “Hendricks” coin was in the Condition Census for the issue. In fact, in many cases, the coin offered in the April 2022 auction ranked quite high in the Condition Census.

Before we delve into the specific coins which I think are especially interesting, let’s spend a moment taking a quick dive into the high-grade Type One market. (High-grade means different things for each issue in the Type One series: for an 1855-O, high-grade means AU53 to AU55; for an 1864-S, high-grade means MS62+ to MS63.)

From 2000 to around 2017, the Type One $20 market saw unprecedented upward growth in both demand and prices. This was true for both rarities and common dates in virtually all grade ranges. Then beginning in 2016, the market became over-saturated with coins which had been located in overseas bank hoards.

These have been marketed on a large scale under various names (Granite Lady and Eureka as well as Fairmont). Many collectors (and dealers!) became apprehensive to purchase a coin such as an 1858 $20 in AU58, not knowing if the number of coins which would become available was five or fifty.

Turn the clock forward to April 2022 and I believe we have seen the majority of the high-grade Type One issues from Fairmont. Yes, it is likely that there are other Uncirulated 1858s in the sale queue, but my gut instinct tells me that the exceptional PCGS/CAC MS63 (Lot 5382) which I purchased for $60,000 is the single best example of this date from Fairmont—and that the next best is likely to grade at least one full point lower—if not more.

Let’s begin with Lot 5360, an 1850 graded AU58 by PCGS and approved by CAC. I thought this coin was nice but not an upgrade candidate. Given that the coin brought a very strong $14,400 (all prices realized in this article are include the 20% buyer’s premium) at least two bidders graded this coin MS61. This is a date which has been strongly impacted in EF and lower AU grades by Fairmont (or “Fairmonted” in Doug-speak) but not in AU58 and finer.

The 1851-O graded MS61 by PCGS and approved by CAC (Lot 5363) realized $50,400 which initially seems like a very strong price until you realize that there are no other APRs for this date in PCGS MS61, and that a PCGS MS61 non-CAC 1852-O (a very good comparable) sold for $40,800 in March 2021. Speaking of the 1852-O, the “Hendricks” coin was a solid PCGS/CAC AU58 that sold for $19,200. The most recent APR for this date in this grade was $16,450 in July 2021 and another coin brought $15,863 in May 2020.

A coin that I thought sold very cheaply in the sale was Lot 5368, the 1853/’2’ which realized $28,800. This was the nicest example of this variety that I’ve ever seen, but this variety has fallen out of favor as collectors have concluded (rightfully so) that this is a “fauxverdate.”

*1854 Large Date $20.00 PCGS MS62 CAC, Lot 5372*

I was surprised that I was able to purchase both the PCGS/CAC MS62 1854 Large Date and the PCGS 1854-S for less than my maximum bids. The former (Lot 5372) is tied with one other coin as the third finest known and a very heavily abraded PCGS/CAC MS61 sold for $24,000 in June 2018. I paid $43,200 for this high-end piece.

The 1854-S (Lot 5373) was among my favorite coins in the entire sale. It is the single best non-shipwreck example of this date and I paid $40,800 for it. As a basis of comparison, a cruddy seawater MS62 graded by PCGS sold for $36,000 in April 2018.

In June 2018, I purchased a nice PCGS MS60 1857-O with a Fairmont pedigree for $78,000. Imagine my “surprise” when I saw Lot 5380 in the “Hendricks” sale: the same date in PCGS MS61. This example brought $114,000, which is a strong price in my opinion.

I bought the PCGS MS61 1858-O (Lot 5383) for $81,000 which seemed like very good value in comparison to the 1857-O. In February 2022, an NGC MS60 brought $50,414.

Another coin I was able to purchase for well under my maximum bid was Lot 5385, the 1859 in PCGS/CAC MS62. This is the single rarest Philadelphia Type One issue in Uncirculated (not including, of course, the excessively rare 1861 Paquet) and the “Hendricks” coin was tied for the single finest known. Luckily, the other one is owned by DL Hansen which meant I wouldn’t have to battle him to own this coin. This likely saved me $30,000-40,000+, and I paid $72,000 for it instead of the six-figure price I was prepared to pay.

One of the best deals in the sale was Lot 5386, an 1859-O graded AU53 by PCGS. It was pretty scruffy for the grade but it was totally natural appearance and extremely rare as such. The coin sold for $55,200, and the only other APR since 2004 was $66,000 which was achieved in June 2018 by another Fairmont example.

A coin whose record-smashing price surprised me was Lot 5387, the finest known 1859-S Doubled Die Obverse graded MS62+ by PCGS and approved by CAC. No one loves this variety more than I do and it was the finest known by a large margin (the previous finest known was a PCGS MS61), but I can’t imagine anyone expected the coin to bring $69,000. In case you’re wondering, a PCGS/CAC MS62+ without the doubling is probably a $30-35k coin.

The 1862 and 1863 (Lots 5395 and 5397) sold for $50,400 and $36,000, respectively. I thought both coins were nice sliders and had they been unquestionably “new” (or at least approved by CAC) they would likely have sold for 20-30% more.

Lot 5398, the 1863-S, was graded MS63 by PCGS and approved by CAC. I thought the coin was spectacular and had a small shot to upgrade. It brought $45,600 which is a record price for this date but which still seemed a little light; especially when one considers that there were none sold at auction since late 2011 and that there was an APR of $32,200 for a PCGS MS63 all the way back in June 2007.

I purchased Lot 5399, an 1864 graded MS62+ by PCGS and approved by CAC for $60,000. This is a pretty reasonable amount as there is an APR of $47,000 for a PCGS/CAC MS62 in the 2014 ANA sale. Also of note was the non-CAC PCGS MS63+ 1864 which brought $88,125 in December 2020.

*1866-S No Motto $20.00 PCGS AU58 CAC, Lot 5403*

An expensive Type One which flew under the radar in the “Hendricks” sale was Lot 5403, a very nice CAC approved 1866-S No Motto graded AU58 by PCGS. This issue became the Poster Child for the overheated Liberty Head double eagle market in early 2007 when another PCGS AU58 brought $195,500. The example in this auction realized $120,000 in the first appearance for a PCGS AU58 since May 2009.

I felt that while there were some very strong prices realized for Type One Liberty Head double eagles, the overall strength shown by this series was not nearly as strong as their nearest equivalents, the No Motto half eagles and eagles. These two series showed considerable strength for virtually every date and mint unlike the Type One double eagles which were spotty.

As I write this (April 2022) it is clear to me that at the very top-end of the Type One market there are fewer buyers than there were pre-Fairmont. If a very low population coin such as the 1859 in PCGS/CAC MS62 comes along, the price will be less than expected if the two or three end users already have an equivalent coin.

CAC matters on these coins but probably not as much as it does on No Motto half eagles and eagles. Nice quality non-CAC PCGS Type One double eagles sold for stronger prices than past auctions would have suggested, especially if the date in question was fundamentally scarce or rare. In my opinion, there were a number of “Hendricks” coins which didn’t pass at CAC which were still better than the majority of examples of those issues with CAC approval which I’ve seen.

It would have been interesting if the two key date Type Ones (the 1854-O and the 1856-O) had been present. Assuming that they were of the same quality as the other key O-mints in the sale (i.e., in the AU53 to AU58 range and extremely nice for the issue), I’m almost certain that they would have set record prices for the date.

It seems like this is a good time to be a buyer of high-end Type One double eagles. Prices are reasonable and the quality of these Fairmont coins is impressive, to say the least. I’m probably not going out on a limb to say that there are more “Hendricks” offerings to come, and they will present the new collector with the sort of opportunity that future generations will shake their head and go “can you believe the quality and availability of these coins.”

Interested in working on a set of high grade Type One double eagles? You can work with the dealer who “wrote the book” on these coins. Simply send an email to Doug Winter at dwn@ont.com and start your journey on this fascinating area of the rare gold market.

DOUBLE EAGLES