The Single Greatest Indian Head Eagle in Existence

There has never been an Indian Head eagle which has shattered the $1 million dollar mark. This is soon going to change, though, when Heritage sells Dr. Steven Duckor’s incredible 1920-S eagle in their March 2007 National Money Show auction in Charlotte, North Carolina. I fully expect this coin to break all previous price records for an example of this design type. If you were to ask five experts in 20th century US gold coinage the question “what is the single greatest Indian Head eagle in existence,” I’m reasonably certain that the answer would be unanimous: The Duckor 1920-S eagle which has been graded MS67 by PCGS.

This coin is very important for at least two significant reasons: it is very possibly the finest known Indian Head eagle of any date (it was graded MS67 by PCGS many years ago and by today’s standards I would think it had a pretty decent shot to upgrade to MS68) AND it just so happens to be the rarest date in the series in Gem Uncirculated. I can not think of many other situations in which a finest known single coin also happens to be a rarity as well.

In 2005 I first had the pleasure of viewing this coin in person. I was doing some other business with Steve Duckor and he asked me if I’d like to view his coin collection. There were a lot of memorable coins in his sets but I think the one that stuck with me most was the 1920-S Eagle. And I could tell that this coin held a special place in Steve’s heart as well.

This coin was first sold by dealer Jerry Cohen to another dealer, Dennis Forgue, in 1968 for $3,500. It was placed in the collection of Dr. William Blackwell until the Stack’s June 1979 auction where Dr. Steven Duckor purchased it for $85,000; an enormous amount of money at the time for an Indian Head eagle. After remaining in Dr. Duckor’s collection for over a quarter of a century, it will be sold on March 16, 2007 as Lot 2134 in the Heritage auction.

I can personally think of at least three or four serious collectors who are going to really want to add the Duckor 1920-S eagle to their collection. This should create a level of competitive bidding that leads to a world-record price for the date and for the entire denomination.

Given the fact that the outstanding MS66 1920-S eagle in the Kutasi collection was recently sold by Heritage for a record price of $402,500, I think it’s pretty safe to say that the Duckor coin is going to bring considerable more; maybe even three times as much.

I’m personally very excited to witness the sale of this coin in Charlotte on the night of March 16th. Its going to be a great piece of Numismatic Drama and yet another feather in the cap of Dr. Steve Duckor; a personal friend and one of the greatest collectors I have ever known.

Undervalued Areas in the Rare Coin Market

While I don’t claim to have a crystal ball, I usually have a pretty good sense of which areas in the field of rare gold coin collecting are poised to show an increase in interest in the coming years. Here are some areas which I feel are undervalued and which have the potential of becoming the Next Big Thing. 1. Classic Head Gold Coinage: If you are a regular reader of my blogs you know that I am a big fan of Classic Head gold coinage. I think the design of these coins is attractive and I like the fact that they neatly bridge the gap between “old gold” and the more familiar Liberty Head design that was employed for nearly 70 years.

One reason why Classic Head gold has not become very actively collected by specialists is the lack of a good Winter-esque style guide book. What I find very interesting about this series (in addition to the fact that it is short-lived and thus very completable) is that there are a number of fascinating varieties in both the quarter eagle and half eagle series. Many of these are touched on in the Breen Encyclopedia while others are described in detail and illustrated in the Bass catalogs. While I’m not a variety guy, per se, I do find a number of the varieties in these series very interesting and if someone were to better catalog and illustrate them clearly showing the differences, I think they would become very widely collected.

Another reason I like Classic Head gold is the interesting branch mint issues contained in both the quarter eagle and half eagle series. Clearly I am not a lone voice in the wilderness when it comes to issues such as the 1839-O quarter eagle or the 1838-C and 1838-D half eagles as these have seen considerable price increases in the last few years. Despite these increases, I still think the branch mint Classic Head gold issues are comparatively undervalued and if the Classic Head series becomes more widely collected by date then these issues will show even further appreciation in the coming years.

You need to remember that many of these varieties are quite rare to begin with and this is not a collecting specialty which could support more than a few serious collectors at any given time. I think the area which is likely to see the greatest number of specialists is the Capped Bust Large Eagle half eagles struck between 1795 and 1807; particularly the issues produced between 1800 and 1807. Dates like the 1804 and 1806, of which there are seven and six different varieties, respectively, are not prohibitively expensive on a per-coin basis as long as the collector is content to purchase nice EF and AU coins.

2. High Grade New Orleans Eagles: I base this prediction on how well coins like this sell for me when I list them on my website. I am referring primarily to common date New Orleans eagles (such as the 1901-O, 1903-O, 1904-O and 1906-O) in MS63 and higher grades.

Here’s why I love a coin like the 1901-O eagle in MS63. The current PCGS population for this date in this grade is forty-two with just nine graded better. Trends is currently $3,500 and when I have these available I generally ask in the area of $3,250-3,350. Now look at a common date like the 1901-S which has a PCGS population of 3,920 with 3,209 graded better. These routinely sell for $1,100 in MS63 and you can literally buy them by the wheelbarrowfull at any major show. In my opinion, the 1901-O at a three times premium above the 1901-S is great value.

A coin like a 1901-O eagle in MS63 traded for around $2,500 a year or two ago so the market has clearly started to rise. But at the same point in time, a 1901-S traded for around $1,250. This means that the premium factor has only risen from 2x to 3x. It would not surprise me if in the next year or two, the premium factor grew to at least 4x and possibly as high as 5x.

3. Civil War gold: It’s just a matter of time before someone starts promoting date runs of Civil War gold issues. It’s been done before and it seems like such a no-brainer promotion I’m sure it will be done again.

The only problem with doing a comprehensive promotion of Civil War era gold is, of course, finding enough quantity to make such a promotion worthwhile. As an example, the gold dollars from 1861 to 1865 seem easy enough to promote but just try to find a quantity of 1863’s in any grade. You can forget promoting quarter eagles from this era due to the extreme rarity of the 1863 and the 1864 issues - and the 1865 Three Dollar is rare enough to put the kibosh on this series. I guess if I had the answer I would be running the promotion myself right now. But I can just see that beautiful full-color brochure with the battlefield scene and the 1862 three dollar gold piece imposed on top of it….

1841 Quarter Eagle Observations

I recently studied an 1841 quarter eagle graded PR53 by PCGS which was offered by Heritage in their February 2007 Long Beach auction. Numismatic tradition states that around 20 1841 quarter eagles were struck, all as Proofs. Numismatic tradition, in this case, is wrong.

The 1841 in the Heritage sale was unquestionably produced as a business strike. I’ve seen at least three other examples which I believe were produced for circulation as well.

Here are a few observations about the 1841 quarter eagle which I’d like to share:

1. Given the fact that around fifteen 1841 quarter eagles exist, let’s assume that the actual original mintage figure is more like 25-30 instead of the presumed 20 (I actually think it could be as high as 50). Then, let’s look at one other important fact: the mintage figure for Proof quarter eagles during the 1840’s is, with the exception of the 1841, less than ten coins per year. In some cases (i.e., 1847 and 1849) Proofs from this decade do not even exist. Why is the Proof mintage figure so high? Especially given the fact there is nothing “special” about this year; nothing, that is, which would cause so many Proofs to be struck.

2. Proof gold coins from the 1840’s look like Proofs, even when they are well-circulated. The 1841 in the Heritage sale did not look remotely like a Proof. It had absolutely no reflectiveness in the protected areas, the rims were not squared and the overall “look” of the coins did not suggest that it had been made for presentation purposes.

3. There are 1841 quarter eagles that exist in grades as low as Very Good to Fine. No other Proof gold coins from the 1840’s are known in very low grades so why should 1841 “Proofs” be found with this degree of circulation?

4. Despite having its own nickname (the “Little Princess”) the 1841 quarter eagle is a coin whose status as a Classic American Rarity seems to have diminished in recent years. My guess is that this is because specialists feel that since it is considered to be a “Proof-only” issue it isn’t necessarily an integral member of a business strike set of Liberty Head quarter eagles. It is curious that the 1854-S quarter eagle, an issue that was traditionally valued at lower levels than the 1841, is now regarded as a “better” coin and is bringing higher prices.

David Akers, who I regard to be the most knowledgeable expert of all-time on the subject of United States gold coinage has stated in his seminal work on quarter eagles that he believes that the 1841 quarter eagle was struck in two formats: as Proofs and as circulation strikes. However, in their 2006 book “Encyclopedia of United States Gold Coins,” Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth state that “only Proof quarter eagles were produced in 1841; circulated examples are said to exist, but these are actually mishandled Proofs that entered circulation.” I am clearly in the Akers camp in this debate and the 1841 quarter eagle I just viewed at Long Beach makes me feel more strongly than ever that business strike 1841 quarter eagles DO exist.

February 2007 Long Beach Show Review

nother Long Beach week has come and gone and this February’s version provided some interesting insights into the current state of the rare coin market. For me, the week began with attending the Goldberg auction in Beverly Hills. This sale contained quite a bit of rare gold coinage, including extensive runs of early half eagles, numerous high grade Charlotte and Dahlonega gold coinage and some impressive double eagles.

I thought that the overall results of this sale were mixed. The early gold coinage was stronger than I expected with the coins consistently bringing 10-20% over current market values. I found that buyers weren’t hugely picky as, in a number of cases, coins that were substandard for the grade did not sell for much of a discount versus examples that were high end.

An area that definitely saw buyer discrimination was Charlotte and Dahlonega issues. The Goldberg sale contained a host of coins in the MS60 to MS62 grade range which had problems. Nearly all were passed on by bidders but attractive, medium priced pieces brought strong prices. It seems that there are still a number of overgraded, unoriginal coins overhanging this market and until some of these go away, they will drag down the desirability of the nice coins with them.

Liberty Head double eagles continued to be very popular. A number of bidders at the Goldberg sale paid strong prices for Type I and Type II issues. As expected, New Orleans pieces led the way but I saw surprising strength in the Philadelphia and San Francisco areas as well. In Type Three issues, some of the nice, high grade Carson City double eagles in the sale brought very strong prices.

I found the Long Beach coin show itself to be among the slowest editions of this convention that I have attended in years. I go to shows primarily to buy coins and I was extremely disappointed by the near-total lack of interesting material at the show. I looked at box after box of dealer’s coins and was routinely left shaking my head wondering where all the interesting coins were. Overall, I spent around one-quarter the amount of what I spent at the FUN show which I regard as one of the best buying shows I’ve ever had. Click here to see a full list of all my new purchases with images and descriptions as well.

A curious trend at the show saw the bottom falling out of the generic gold market; despite the fact that bullion is as strong as it as been for years. Buyers could purchase VF and EF Liberty Head double eagles at melt levels and it was possible to buy the same coins in MS62 holders for only a $20-30 premium over spot; essentially melt plus slabbing fees. I mostly attribute this to cash flow problems with many of the larger market makers in the generic gold market. While I hesitate to make investment recommendations, generic gold seems like an interesting play right now with premiums as low as they have been in some time.

The highlight of the Heritage sale was a fresh-to-the-market 1854-S quarter eagle graded EF45 which sold for a record price of $345,000. As many of you know, the 1854-S is an issue which I have championed for many years and I have had the good fortune to sell three of them in my career. It is interesting to quickly recap the ascendancy of this issue into the status of Classic American Gold Rarity.

In the October 1999 Bass II sale the probable finest known example of this issue brought $137,500 which was, by a considerable margin, a record price but which, in my opinion, was still cheap for a coin which, by all rights, should be considered one of the most significant of all 19th century United States gold coins. This piece was resold a few years later in the $175,000-185,000 range. Then, around a year and a half ago, I purchased the second finest known (graded EF45 by NGC) for a record price of $253,000. This clearly raised the bar for the 1854-S and I remember a number of savvy dealers complimenting me after the auction for what they thought was a great purchase. Even after the new record price realized at the Heritage sale, I still think the 1854-S is undervalued in relation to other comparable rarities.

The market for New Orleans gold coinage seems as strong as I can remember it. Many of the bread and butter issues that I like to buy (such as 1888-O eagles in MS62 or 1893-O half eagles in MS62) were completely missing from dealer’s inventories and this makes me feel that a number of marketers are now selling these “introductory O mints” to their clients.

There are two significant shows in March (Baltimore and Charlotte) and I expect these to be excellent indicators of exactly where the market will be heading as we slide into the second quarter of the year.

No Motto Liberty Head Eagles

was recently working on a research project involving No Motto Liberty Head eagles and I was amazed at just how rare most of these coins are, especially in higher grades. Even the “common” dates like the 1847, 1849 and 1853 still have relatively low surviving populations in the higher AU grades and in Mint State. But there were a few dates that really stood out. One of my favorite No Motto eagles has always been the 1839 Head of 1840. There were two varieties of eagles produced in 1839. The first—and more common—has the same type of head as that seen on the popular 1838 eagles. The rarer shows the same style of Liberty head as seen on eagles produced in 1840. Unlike with the 1839 Head of 1838, there do not seem to have been many 1839 Head of 1840 eagles saved. I doubt if more than four or five dozen examples are known and most of these grade EF40 or lower. The finest known example of this issue is the Pittman II: 1912 coin which is now in an NGC MS64 holder. One other Uncirculated piece is known: a PCGS MS62 which is probably from the 1976 ANA sale and earlier from the Charles Jay collection sold by Stack’s in the 1960’s.

Another date that always been a favorite “sleeper” of mine is the 1843. With an original mintage figure of 75,462 you would think this date would be common but it isn’t. I would estimate that 175-225 pieces are known but the vast majority are in circulated grades and this date becomes really hard to find in AU55 to AU58. But where this date is truly rare is in Uncirculated grades. Both PCGS and NGC have just graded one example in Uncirculated and both of these coins are in MS61 holders. The PCGS MS61 was last sold by Superior as Lot 414 in their April 2003 sale where it realized $15,525. Imagine what this coin would have brought if it were struck at the New Orleans mint or, better yet, at Carson City!

A date that gets virtually no recognition but which is rare in all grades is the 1855-S. With an original mintage figure of 9,000 you’ve got to figure this issue is rare and the combined number graded at PCGS and NGC is just 73 coins. My best estimate is that 60-80 examples are known but at least 80% of these are in EF45 and lower grades. In AU the 1855-S is a major rarity and I have never personally seen an example that graded better than AU53 to AU55. Despite this fact, you can buy a nice EF45 example for around $3,000 and an AU50 will run in the $5,000-7,000 range. No, it’s not a popular coin and yes I realize it’s an S Mint $10 but, man, that seems like a lot of coin for the money.

Speaking of rare but unsalable San Francisco eagles, how about the 1860-S? Until the recent discovery of two Uncirculated pieces in the S.S. Republic treasure, this date was unknown in Mint State and I had never seen one better than AU55. It’s still a majority rarity in all grades with an estimated total population of 25-35 pieces. If San Francisco gold coinage ever gets the recognition it deserves, a coin like this will be considered a stopper in the eagle series.

What is the rarest No Motto Liberty Head eagle? I would have to say that the unquestioned rarity of this type is the 1864-S. Until an example was sold at auction in the Summer of 2006, I think at least three to five years had passed since an example was offered for sale. (I know for a fact that the best collection of Liberty Head eagles assembled in recent history was missing this date until recently). Only 2,500 examples of the 1864-S eagle were struck and I’d be very surprised if more than 20-25 are known. What is very interesting about this date, though, is the fact that it has been offered for sale so infrequently in recent years. One has to wonder if someone hasn’t quietly put together a small hoard of pieces and has kept these off the market.

If your budget can handle coins in the $2,500-20,000 range I’d give the No Motto Liberty Head eagle series some serious consideration. It’s a completable set but one which is very challenging and lots of fun to collect.

The Contrarian Opportunity of Charlotte Gold Coinage

Charlotte gold coinage is about as unpopular right now as at any time I can recall in the past two decades. Why are the coins from Charlotte getting no love when their Southern counterparts from Dahlonega and New Orleans are as popular as they’ve been in some time? Read on for a few suggestions. There’s no exact, scientific reason(s) which I can point to which “prove” why Charlotte coinage currently seems to be lagging Dahlonega and New Orleans when it comes to popularity. I can think of at least six possible reasons which, when taken together, have conspired to make these coins currently out of favor with collectors.

1. I’ve written two books on Charlotte gold coinage. The second—and most current—was published in 1997. This book is not only out of print and hard to find, it is out of date as well. Until I get around to publishing a third edition of this book (and I plan to get to work on this sometime in 2007 and hope to have it available by the end of the year) new collectors will not have access to current information. In my experience, whenever I publish a new (or revised) book on gold coinage, the popularity of that series tends to surge immediately. I anticipate that this will happen again by the end of this year or the beginning of 2008.

2. No significant new players for Charlotte coins at the top end of the market have come around in the past few years. In the 1970’s, it was Harry Bass, while the 1980’s saw Stanley Elrod and the 1990’s were dominated by Paul Dingler. Each of these individuals built world-class sets of Charlotte coinage that focused on very high grade pieces. During this time period, other collectors like Ed Milas could be counted on to purchase significant, high grade issues as well. The Charlotte market needs a new “Mr. Big” to step up and take some of the very high end pieces off the market.

3. There are no significant dealers in the Charlotte area who are building a local collecting base. One of the reasons why Dahlonega gold coinage has always had such a strong local following is that Georgia dealers like Hancock & Harwell, Al Adams, John Hamrick and Larry Jackson have loyally supported the market for Dahlonega coinage for three decades. Despite its status as the undisputed #2 city of the New South, Charlotte still does not have the solid dealer community that characterizes Atlanta.

4. Many of the Charlotte coins currently on the market, especially those in the AU50 to MS61 range, are overgraded, unoriginal and genuinely ugly. It’s hard to get collectors or dealers enthusiastic about coins with minimal eye appeal. One reason why the VF and EF segment of the Charlotte market is comparatively strong is that the coins tend to be decent and collectors are more active. If a fresh deal of attractive, original Charlotte coinage came onto the market in the next year or so, it might act as an excellent jumpstart.

5. A number of the telemarketers who have always been an outlet for the not-so-nice-for-the-grade Charlotte gold coinage have stopped selling these coins. I can think of at least two marketers who I’ve sold hundreds of thousands of dollars of Charlotte gold coinage to over the years who are currently out of the market because their sales forces are tired of selling Charlotte coins or they strongly believe that point #4 I made above is true.

6. In the coin market, tastes are cyclical. After years of neglect, New Orleans gold is currently popular. For years, no one liked early quarter eagles, but now everyone wants them. The market for Charlotte coinage is cyclical as well and happenstance dictates that we are currently in a down cycle. It is very possible that an up cycle of popularity could begin again very soon.

OK, so what has to happen for these coins to get popular again? First we need a new Charlotte book. Then, we need a couple of dealers (myself included) to fall in love with Charlotte coins all over again and start spreading the love. Then we need a couple of wealthy guys from North Carolina to discover how neat these coins are and for them to make a decision that they want to be the Paul Dingler or the Stanley Elrod of the 2000’s. Assuming that at least one or two of these three things happen, I think we can look forward to a renaissance of interest in this area of the market in the coming years. Until then, can you say “contrarian opportunity?”

State of the Market Report: New Orleans Gold

On Monday January 22nd, I posted the Pinnacle Collection of New Orleans gold coinage for sale. This superb collection contained seventy-one choice, high grade examples of New Orleans gold coinage. By Tuesday evening, nearly three-quarters of the coins were sold and as I write this, a mere four days after the initial posting of the collection, all but four coins have been sold. From the conversations I had with the over thirty collectors who bought (or attempted to buy) coins from this collection, I think I learned quite a bit about the State of the Market regarding New Orleans gold—and rare date gold coins in general.

My first observation is that the market is always hungry for attractive, fresh deals of coins. It didn’t take an expert to realize that these coins were exceptional for the grade and date. People liked the fact that they were all in PCGS holders and they really liked the fact that virtually every piece in the collection had dark, crusty surfaces; unlike the dipped-n-stripped material that is usually seen in auctions and other dealers’ inventories.

My second observation is that the publication of my book on New Orleans gold coinage a few months go has definitely spurred interest in these issues. One sophisticated collector who called me commented that New Orleans gold seemed really undervalued in relation to gold coins from other mints, especially given the very low population of high grade pieces from this mint. As a basis of comparison, he noted that $10,000 would go a long way towards buying a Condition Census piece in the New Orleans market while the same amount of money in the Carson City gold market would buy you a coin that was not close to Condition Census level. This is a good point.

Another observation is that people always want key date coins, no matter what series you are discussing. As an example, I had numerous people ask me about the 1841-O, 1859-O, 1879-O and 1883-O eagles and I probably could have sold multiple examples of these dates. The same holds true with the 1845-O quarter eagle and the 1842-O and 1847-O half eagles. My gut feeling is that if New Orleans gold continues to become more popular, these key issues are going to be the coins that show the greatest amount of price appreciation. The same holds true with the popular one-year type issues such as the 1855-O gold dollar, 1839-O quarter eagle and 1854-O three dollar, although these have already seen a good amount of price increase in the past three years.

A number of people complimented me on the presentation of the Pinnacle Collection and I believe that the in-depth descriptions, excellent images (and here I must give a shout out to my photographer Mary Winter who I think outdid herself with this project…) and an attractive overall “look” made shopping at the Pinnacle Collection Store a fun proposition.

I also think people liked being able to purchase fresh, interesting coins in a non-auction environment. A number of people told me that they are beginning to tire of the endless cycle of auctions and having to pick through hundreds and hundreds of lots of junk in order to find the occasional kernel.

So, what’s next for the New Orleans gold market? Clearly there are a number of avid collectors, both new and old, who are in this market. The interesting question is will there be enough coins to go around to satisfy them? Yes, I can sell five 1883-O eagles in the next month but am I going to be able to find even one of them? And what about prices—will Trends and Coin Dealer Newsletter show enough in the way of price increases to fuel a possible New Orleans gold fire?

Stack's January 2007 Sale Review

For collectors of New Orleans and Carson City gold coinage, the Stack’s January 16-17, 2007 Americana auction offered an important selection of high grade coins. Billed as the Morgan Collection, these were pieces which I sold to a Midwestern collector between 1992 and 1999. Many were listed in the Condition Census in my books but had never appeared for sale at public auction. In the gold dollar section, the most important piece by a substantial margin was a superb 1850-O graded MS64 by NGC. I had sold this coin to its owner over ten years ago and, like all of the coins in this collection, it remained in an old holder. I purchased it for $16,100 which I thought was very reasonable for the unquestioned finest known example of the rarest New Orleans gold dollar.

A nice PCGS MS62 1840-O quarter eagle sold for $18,400 against a current Trends value of $17,000 in this grade.

One of the most interesting coins in the sale was not part of the Morgan Collection. This was an NGC MS62 1854-O Three Dollar gold piece which I thought was one of the two best examples of this issue that I’ve seen. It brought $74,750 which is easily a record auction price for this date but which fell short of the reported high five figure price which a PCGS MS62 example traded for via private treaty in 2006.

A number of lovely New Orleans half eagles were offered. I purchased a superb NGC MS63 1840-O for $34,500, a high end 1843-O Large Letters in NGC MS62 for $18,400 and a dazzling fully Prooflike NGC MS63 1844-O for $16,100. Two coins I liked but was outbid on were a PCGS MS61 1854-O which sold for $11,500 and the Pittman 1855-O in MS61 which brought $21,850; a record price for the date.

The Carson City half eagles in the Morgan Collection included a number of very important pieces. A choice AU55 1870-CC was sold for $37,375 and a really nice NGC AU50 example of the very rare 1873-CC realized $28,750 which is surely a record price for an 1873-CC in this grade. My favorite coin in the collection and certainly one of the single neatest coins I’ve ever owned was a glorious 1875-CC in PCGS MS63. It sold to a New York dealer for $103,500 and I think it was an extremely good value. Another lovely and important coin was an 1881-CC in NGC MS63. Like the 1875-CC it was the finest known example and it sold for $57,500; again, a reasonable price considering this coin’s rarity and significance.

Other notable prices realized for Carson City half eagles in the sale include $29,900 for the finest known 1884-CC (a PCGS MS61) and a strong $13,800 for a PCGS MS64 1891-CC.

The set of Carson City eagles in the Morgan Collection was complete and it rivaled the set sold in ANR’s Old West sale this summer as the finest group offered at auction since the Bass sales of 1999-2001. A PCGS EF45 1870-CC went strong at $46,000 and an impressive NGC AU55 1872-CC brought $34,500. One of the strongest prices in the sale was the $43,700 realized for an 1873-CC in PCGS AU50; Trends for this date is $30,000 in this grade. A lustrous but heavily bagmarked 1875-CC in PCGS AU53 brought $29,325 and an 1876-CC in PCGS EF45 realized $12,650 against a Trends value of $12,000 in this grade.

I was very happy to purchase a choice AU55 NGC 1877-CC for $27,600 as I thought it was comparable to the Bass coin which had sold for $41,400 back in 1999. Among the latter date Carson City eagles, a PCGS MS61 1881-CC with superb original color sold for $10,350, a gorgeous NGC MS64 1891-CC was bid to $17,250 and a fresh, attractive 1893-CC in NGC MS60 went very reasonably at $8,625.

There were not many New Orleans eagles in the collection but the star attraction, the only Uncirculated example known of the rare 1879-O, was a coin which I felt was one of the most important gold coins of this mint ever offered for sale. I was shocked to buy it for what I thought was an extremely reasonable $52,900. I also purchased a very choice 1880-O in NGC MS61 (I think it is the second or third finest known) for $16,100 which was also considerably less than what I would have paid. An NGC AU55 example of the rare 1883-O was bid to $20,700 and a choice NGC MS63 example of the vastly underrated 1899-O sold cheaply at $5,750.

My overall take on this sale is that prices were mixed. I think there were some incredible bargains and I think some prices were considerably higher than what I would have expected. I think this sale was hurt by the fact that it occurred less than two weeks after the mammoth FUN auctions and that the lots were not available for viewing during the FUN convention at Stack’s table as ANR used to display lots for upcoming sales.

When I communicated with the owner of this collection about his selling it, I suggested that he allow me to resubmit the coins for grading as I thought nearly every piece in the group would upgrade; some considerably. He didn’t take my advice and I wonder if this cost him money or not. It’s hard to say but when I start seeing how I did on these coins I bought after they’ve been resubmitted, perhaps I’ll have a better idea.

Timing in the Coin Market

Assuming you want to sell coins at auction, does it make a difference when you do? In my opinion, timing in the coin market is everything. Here are some tips about when to sell and when not to sell at auction. Traditionally, people have assumed that it made more sense to sell coins at auction during major conventions like FUN or ANA. In the past, this was definitely true. Today, with the emergence of the Internet and a new mentality that an auction could occur on Mars and the buyers would still be there, I do not feel this is necessarily true.

It is expensive for a firm like Heritage to conduct a sale at a major convention. In addition to the fees that they have to pay to the organization who conducts the show (ANA, FUN, CSNS, etc) it costs more to run a sale in a major urban area. A seller has to ask himself if it is worth more money to sell coins at a major show than a not-so-major one. If it costs 4 or 5% more to put coins in the ANA auction that a pre-ANA sale, is this worth it?

This last question is an interesting one to ask. I can see the validity of both a yes and a no answer. Some people will contend that an ANA or FUN show brings out more buyers than, say, a Long Beach or Central States show and it is worth paying the extra money. Others people feel that, as I mentioned above, the buyers are going to find the coins regardless of what show the auction is being held in conjunction with and paying the premium price is a waste of money. I tend to agree with the former theory rather than the latter.

From experience, I have learned a couple of tricks as far as selecting a time and place in which to sell coins at auction. If I had a collection of “sophisticated” or historic coins (like Colonials or early type), I would sell them at an east coast sale since that’s where many of the buyers for these coins live. Logic dictates that a collection of Charlotte or Dahlonega coins should be sold in a venue like Atlanta although this is not always the case. And, as I will discuss below, New York City is an exception to every rule because of its incredible size and wealth.

There is no question that in 2007 Manhattan is the undisputed center of the world as far as selling art. Incredible amounts of money are in or near New York and it’s nice to think that some of this will be flowing into the coin market. I think this is true from the standpoint of people who already like coins and there are certainly a lot of serious collectors in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut tri-state area. But it’s a pipedream to think that the guys who just dropped $15 million at the Christie’s Contemporary Art auctions are going to wander into a New York coin auction and be factors there.

When you are deciding on when to sell your coins at auction, use a calendar and a little common sense. This year’s pre-FUN auctions didn’t do well because in order to properly view the lots and figure your bids, you had to fly down to Orlando on either December 31st or January 1st. Realistically, how many people (even coin dealers) don’t have better things to do on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s day than flying to Orlando and slogging through a bunch of coins?

Is the auction you are considering being held on the Jewish holidays? Even those of us who don’t attend services think it’s tacky to be spending the High Holy Days at a coin auction.

Certain times of the year are traditionally slow in the coin market. November and December are always slow months due to the fact that there are few major shows and traveling becomes difficult due to bad weather and holiday conflicts.

Certain venues are traditionally bad coin towns as well. I have a personal grudge against St. Louis as a coin town and despite the fact that I’ve probably gone to ten coin shows there in the past two decades, I have had continually bad numismatic experiences in the Gateway City. Therefore, I’m just not going to put coins in an auction that occur in St. Louis; even if Tony LaRussa personally comes to my office and solicits a consignment.

What about when there are numerous auctions stacked up against each other during short periods of time; like before and during the ANA when three or four competing firms all have sales? Which sale do you pick—the first one (when people will be fresh and have money to spend) or the last one (when they will be burned out and broke)? The answer is not as cut and dry as you might think.