Carolina Circle Collection of Charlotte Gold Coinage

I recently completed cataloging the Carolina Circle Collection of Charlotte gold coinage for Heritage. This collection, which was primarily formed in the 1970’s and 1980’s, is going to be sold by Heritage during their 2008 FUN auction. It is a virtually complete collection, missing only the 1849-C Open Wreath gold dollar and it contains some of the nicest—and freshest—coins from Charlotte that I have seen in some time. I have known the owner of this collection for a number of years and when he made the decision to sell, I suggested that he place the coins in the 2008 FUN auction. About 40% of the collection is housed in very old PCGS and NGC holders and I suggested to this individual that he keep the coins in these old slabs; despite the fact that many of them appeared to be significantly undergraded by today’s standards.

What I really like about this collection is the originality of many of the coins. Almost all of them are in the EF40 to AU58 range and a number are notable for their superb original color and unadulterated surfaces. There are a few individual coins that I think rank as among the most attractive Charlotte gold coins I have ever seen; regardless of date or denomination.

My two favorite gold dollars in this collection are an 1849-C Closed Wreath and an 1850-C. Both are in old PCGS AU58 holders and both, in my opinion, grade considerably finer by today’s standards. I think both coins have great eye appeal and would make excellent additions to a date or type set. I also like the AU55 1857-C gold dollar in this collection. It, too, is in an old green label holder and it seems very choice for the date and grade.

The quarter eagles in the Carolina Circle Collection are outstanding and include a number of Condition Census pieces. Even though it “only” grades NGC AU53, the 1839-C Repunched Date is a lovely original coin and is housed in an old “fatty” holder certain to attract attention. There are PCGS AU55 examples of the 1840-C and 1844-C, both in old green label holders, that are also extremely choice for their designated grade levels. The 1846-C and 1849-C quarter eagles are both also graded AU55 by PCGS.

There are two quarter eagles in this collection that I think are absolutely wonderful coins. The 1852-C is in an old green label PCGS AU58 holder but it appears far choicer than this. I absolutely love this coin’s coloration and I personally regard it as the third finest known for the date, trailing only the Bass II and Elrod coins.

I also really like the 1855-C in this collection. I had never seen or heard of this coin before I went to examine this group a few months ago and I’m sure I let out a big gasp when I first saw it. It is currently in a PCGS MS61 holder but I personally feel it is nicer than this. What I like best about this coin is its freshness as evidenced by its glowing frosty luster, lovely rose-gold color and extremely clean surfaces. It is probably the third finest known example of this rare date and it is the nicest 1855-C I have seen since the incomparable Bass coin was first sold in 1999.

The half eagles in this collection are complete and include a number of important and choice pieces. One that is certain to capture a lot of viewer attention is an 1838-C in PCGS AU58. While reasonably common in lower grades, this date is rare in AU and the current PCGS population is just three in AU58 with a single example higher.

The 1840’s half eagles in the Carolina Circle collection are, for the most part, very nice coins and this includes solid AU examples of the 1840-C, 1841-C, 1844-C and 1846-C. There is an 1842-C Large Date in an old green label PCGS AU55 that seems extremely choice for the grade, in my opinion.

The half eagle in this collection that will probably generate the most interest is the 1842-C Small Date. It is currently housed in an old ANACS AU50 holder but it appears to be considerably nicer than this. As you may or may not know, this is the rarest collectible issue from this mint and the typical piece is well worn with poor eye appeal. The example in this collection is lightly marked, well struck and original with good color and a very pleasing naked-eye appearance.

There are other less glamorous but very attractive half eagles in the Carolina Circle collection as well. An 1847-C in an older PCGS holder has superb color and great eye appeal. The 1851-C, graded AU50 by PCGS many years ago, seems to be way undergraded and it has an exceptional strike for the issue as well as superb deep yellow-gold color. The 1853-C, housed in a green label PCGS AU58 holder, is also attractively toned in rich, natural shadings.

If you follow the rare gold coin market you know that Charlotte coinage has been somewhat out-of-favor for the last few years. I predict that this collection will help to jumpstart this market. It’s been a number of years since this many fresh, attractive pieces have been offered for sale and, typically, when collection like this are sold, new collectors become interested in getting a set started.

For more information on this collection, feel free to contact me and I also suggest that keep an eye on Heritage’s website. I expect that the lots for the FUN sale will be posted sometime around the middle of December.

November 2007 Whitman Baltimore Coin Expo

Even though it involves a schlep of Biblical Proportions, I really enjoy the tri-annual Whitman Baltimore Coin Expo. I can count on three shows each year that will be professionally run, well-attended and extremely active from both a wholesale and retail perspective. In many ways, Baltimore is the new Long Beach. Prior to the beginning of the show, Stack’s conducted an impressive 3,800+ lot auction. I made the decision not to attend this sale in person as I did not want my Baltimore Experience to stretch into a nearly one week marathon. I did have a Trusted Agent look at a small number of coins for me and I placed a group of what I thought were strong bids. And I proceeded to get blown out of the water. While I can’t comment on the entire auction, the coins that interested me went for numbers that were pretty insane, to say the least.

The first day of the Baltimore show (Thursday) is dealer-only and, to tell you the truth, I like this very much. Having only wholesale business on this day let’s me get more done and it lets me focus strongly on buying.

But because of the fact that I had some interesting fresh coins with me, I spent most of Thursday selling. And selling. And selling some more. I had around fifteen CAC-stickered type coins and with the exception of two that I was asking very strong prices for, they all sold quickly. I can’t say for certain that it was because of the CAC stickers or because type coins are suddenly in demand. My guess is that it is a combination of the two.

So what sold? As I mentioned above, type coins that were attractive or scarce dates or, better yet a combination of the two were in great demand. I would look for this to be a very strong area of the market in 2008. I sold a number of great Carson City coins at the show including two nice AU 1870-CC half eagles, a Condition Census 1871-CC, a solid AU 1875-CC and a really cool secret coin from the 1880’s that I promised the dealer I sold it to that I wouldn’t tell anyone. I also sold a few big-time early gold coins, two proof gold coins and a group of New Orleans gold including some scarcer date eagles.

Generic gold was very active at the show. From what I could tell, demand was high but prices were quite volatile. As an example, at the beginning of the show on Thursday, MS65 Saints were bringing $1,400. But after a few people were short, prices slowly climbed and by the end of the show they were bringing $1,475.

The doors opened to the public on Friday and a Thundering Herd of Serious Collectors stampeded through the doors as the clock struck 10:00. OK, maybe it wasn’t a stampede but the room crowded up quickly and I ran into a majority of the serious collectors from the East Coast that I know by the early afternoon. People at this show definitely come to buy and not to tire kick and I sold a number of very interesting coins.

I typically leave a Baltimore show on Friday but business was so brisk that I rebooked my flight and stayed for the rest of the day. I continued being busy right up until the end of the day and left the bourse floor tired but very satisfied.

The good news about this show, as I mentioned, was that my sales were pretty exceptional. The not-so-good news is that my buying was good but not great. I loved what I bought but I would have liked to have spent a lot more money.

For me, the year is essentially over. I will still be buying and selling coins but my travel is done with the exception of a quick trip to Dallas before Christmas to view Heritage 2008 FUN sale auction lots.

My guess is that from now until the end of the year, things will be reasonably slow in Coin Land although if gold continues its upward ramble towards the $1,000 mark we might see some surprise rare coin activity.

U.S. Coin Pricing Guides

When someone really, truly figures out how to properly compile and market an accurate, real-time pricing guide for United States coins, they are going to become very wealthy and very popular. Because, at this point in time, the pricing mechanisms for most rare United States coins are a mess. Let me explain what I mean. Let’s say you want to buy an 1858-C half eagle graded AU55 by PCGS or NGC. You do not have the coin in hand but you have seen an image of it on a dealer’s website or in an on-line auction. What’s your next step?

You’ll probably do one of two things. If you are a specialized collector you’ll look up its valuation in Coin World Trends or in the CDN Quarterly Summary. The former shows its value to be $5,000. The latter, unfortunately, does not list values for AU55 coins—only AU50 and AU58, so in this particular case it is essentially useless.

What, you ask yourself, does this value of $5,000 actually mean? If you read the fine print in a copy of “Coin Values” you will see that Coin World considers its publication to be a retail price guide. It also states “values are listed for coins that are strictly graded in each grade category according to current market standards.” So does this mean that the collector should expect to pay $5,000 for an 1858-C half eagle in AU55? Unfortunately, Trends is not really clear in explaining this.

The next step for most collectors is to search an on-line database of prices realized at auction. The Heritage Auction Prices Archives, as I have pointed out many times before, is an incredible resource with over 1,125,000 auction lots listed.

In looking up the 1858-C half eagle in AU55, a few things become apparent. The first is the frequency with which this date appears at auction. There were a total of nine different auction appearances in 2006 plus another five in 2005. Even if we assume that some were the same coin(s) sold more than once, fourteen appearances in two years is a high degree of frequency. Thus, we can make the assumption that this coin isn’t really that rare from the standpoint of total number known and it should, therefore, sell at a discount relative to Trends. The fact that it is not a terribly popular or “important” issue (like the 1838-C or 1839-C half eagles) probably would increase this discount relative to Trends.

The next thing I would look at is the most recent auction records for AU55’s. They are as follows: $3,220, $2,990, $5,750 and $5,175. Clearly, this is a huge range and this is where I think using auction price data without proper interpretation can be very misleading for the collector.

Looking back at my catalogs for each of these four AU55 coins, my notes stated the following. For the coin that brought $3,220 I felt it was decent for the grade and I think the buyer got a pretty good deal on this. The coin that sold for $2,990 was “very ugly” in my opinion and even though this was very cheap, it is a case of getting what you pay for. The coin that sold for $5,750 was in an old green label PCGS holder and I graded it “58+,” meaning I thought it had a good shot to grade Uncirculated if resubmitted. And the coin that realized $5,175 was, I felt, “very choice and original” and would upgrade to AU58.

Four coins, same date, same grade...but prices that range from a low of $2,990 to a high of $5,750.

What pricing sheets do not help the collector with is the diversity of quality within a specific grade. These prices tell me that a really lousy 1858-C half eagle in AU55 is probably worth around $3,000; or 60% of Trends. A coin that is decent for the grade (not spectacular but not something that you look at and go “yuck”) is worth around $3,250. A coin that is very nice for the grade (not an upgrade candidate but a piece that has attractive natural color and surfaces) is worth $3,750 or so. And a really high end coin (one that is a seeming candidate to upgrade to AU58) is worth anywhere from $4,500 to $5,500.

Confused yet?

No commercial pricing sheet is going to be able to give you four different quality levels for each grade. We’d be talking about a massive undertaking and a project that few people are qualified to undertake. But it can be done. Collectors of Large Cents rely on a pricing guide called CQR which gives three price ranges for a host of grades for every die variety from 1793 to 1814. This is clearly a labor of love (I can’t imagine that the publishers are getting rich publishing CQR!) but it provides advanced collectors with a set of pricing applications that, within a highly specialized series, makes sense.

What if this specialized pricing were to be applied to various other series? What if some clever entrepreneur got together a group of leading experts and had them be in charge of detailed pricing for a highly specialized market segment? As an example, you could have Stewart Blay, David Schweitz and Andy Skrabalak collectively create and maintain a database for Mint State and Proof Lincoln Cents. If I were a collector of these coins, I think I would pay $100 per year to have access to this pricing that might not be available anywhere else. By charging this amount, the owner of the pricing service could at least defray some of his expenses.

I would expect that as the coin market evolves in the future, we will start seeing some experiments with specialized pricing. I could see this idea working very well for popular series like Bust half dollars and Indian Head cents and I don’t think it would be hard to create categories of quality for popular series such as Morgan dollars (by this I mean an “A” level for extremely nice coins, a “B” level for average to above average coins and a “C” level for below average coins). Most experts, myself included, already grade coins by category and quantifying this information would be relatively simple.

Civil War Gold Coins

In the last few years, a number of Civil War coins have greatly appreciated in value and have become among the most sought-after United States gold issues by collectors. These include the 1861-D gold dollar and half eagle and the 1861-O and 1861-S Paquet Reverse double eagles. But, for some reason, the 1861-C half eagle has not achieved the cult status of these other issues from 1861; despite the fact that it is rare, interesting and historical in its own right. The 1861-C half eagle is the final coin produced at the Charlotte mint. It is the only Charlotte coin which bears the magical 1861 date and it has an original mintage of just 6,879. It is believed that 887 were struck in May, 1861 under the supervision of the Confederacy. If it were possible to determine with certainty which coins were struck by the Confederacy, I believe that they would among the most valuable and desirable of all the coins produced at this mint.

According to one theory, the coins produced by the Confederacy show a relatively extensive die crack on the reverse which begins at the rim over the first A in AMERICA and travels from the left serif of the M in AMERICA through the tops of the lettering to the middle of the I and then into the rim. These late die state coins also show scattered areas of rust on the reverse.

I have kept careful records of this date and in the past fifteen years or so, I have seen around 75 different pieces. Of these, I recorded ten that had this late state of the die break as well as die rust. Given that fewer than 10% of the original mintage are Confederate strikings, this survival rate is fairly plausible although by no means definitive.

As I mentioned above, the 1861-C half eagle has lost some of its appeal in the past decade or so. At one time it was considered to be one of the key dates in the Charlotte half eagle series and it was priced at a level fairly comparable to the 1861-D half eagle. Today, the 1861-D trades for considerably more and it appears on many more want lists. In my opinion, the 1861-C is now undervalued.

I estimate that there are around 125 or so known with most in the VF to EF range. I think there are 25-30 properly graded AU pieces and most of these grade AU50 to AU53. The 1861-C becomes very scarce in AU55 to AU58 and it is extremely rare in Uncirculated. I have only seen two or three that I regard as true Mint State coins. The finest is the ex: Elrod coin that has been graded MS63 by both PCGS and NGC. It last sold for $59,800 in the Heritage 2000 FUN sale and is owned by an Alabama collector.

The 1861-C half eagle is found with a good quality of strike which is interesting when one considers that the two half eagles made prior to this (1859-C and 1860-C) are the two worst struck coins ever produced by this mint. The reverse is the same as that used to make the majority of half eagles struck in 1858-C and it lacks the clogged appearance and extensive die damage seen on the 1859-C and 1860-C reverse.

The surfaces on most 1861-C half eagles are quite heavily abraded, leading me to think that nearly the entire mintage went directly into circulation and that most were used extensively in commerce. A number also show mint-made planchet flaws. The luster on higher grade 1861-C half eagles is mostly frosty with some satiny texture. It is almost impossible to find a piece that has original undisturbed luster due to the aforementioned surface abrasions as well as the fact that many have been dipped or cleaned over the years. The coloration seen ranges from deep green to a lighter yellow-gold shade. Very few remaining examples have natural color. Locating an 1861-C half eagle with good eye appeal is extremely difficult.

The population figures from PCGS and (especially) NGC appear to be highly inflated by resubmissions. NGC shows 23 (!) coins in AU58 as well as another 15 in AU55 while PCGS’s figures of nearly 50 coins in the various AU grades seems heavily inflated as well.

As I mentioned above, at current price levels the 1861-C half eagle appears to be good value. A nice EF coin, if you can find one, is going to run in the $4,500-5,500 range. I think the best value grade for this date is an AU53 which is worth around $8,000-10,000. In the higher AU grades, price levels jump to $12,500-15,000 for an AU58. I am aware of a few examples graded MS61 by NGC that have traded in the $30,000-40,000 range. I think a no-questions-asked Uncirculated example is a great value at this level but, as I mentioned above, I haven’t seen many in MS61 holders that I thought were legitimately “new.”

I’ve got to think that when (notice I didn’t say “if”) Charlotte gold coinage becomes popular again, the 1861-C will regain its place among the pantheon of popular Civil war related issues which are in great demand among collectors. It is a personal favorite of mine and it is an issue that I actively look to purchase when I am coin shows or examining auction listings.

The Milas Collection of No Motto Half Eagles

One of the most ambitious collecting projects ever undertaken was the No Motto half eagle set assembled by Chicago dealer Ed Milas. Not only did Mr. Milas attempt to assemble a complete set of these rare coins (struck between 1839 and 1866) but he did it, for the most part, in the highest grade possible. After working on this set for the better part of two decades, Milas sold his coins at auction through Stack’s in May, 1995. The Milas set included 98 coins and was lacking only the 1842-C Small Date, 1854-S, 1863 and 1864-S to be totally complete. The coins ranged in grade from mid-AU to MS66 and included a host of individual pieces that were either Finest Known or high in the Condition Census for that specific issue. I would still rate this as one of the single greatest specialized U.S gold collections ever formed and it was one of the most interesting auctions that I ever attended.

I had seen a number of Ed’s coins on a piece-meal basis and had even sold him a few high-end Charlotte and Dahlonega coins indirectly. But it was with real excitement that I went to New York to view a collection that had attained true cult status among rare gold coin collectors and dealers alike.

I remember being very surprised to see that the Milas Collection had been sent to NGC to be graded. Stack’s, in the mid-1990’s seemed to sell far fewer encapsulated coins than their competitors and my initial reaction on viewing the coins in their holders was that NGC had gotten a little bit carried away in grading them. Of course today, these same coins in the same 1995 holders would seem almost quaintly undergraded.

What I remember most about this collection, nearly a decade and a half after the fact, was the wonderful quality of the coins. They were the sort of No Motto mint half eagles that you almost never see today. Most had wonderful original color, blazing luster and had never been enhanced. A number traced their origin to famous collections that had been sold in the 1980’s and early 1990’s including Eliasberg, James Stack, Jimmy Hayes, Bareford and Garrett.

From the standpoint of appearance and overall grade, the Philadelphia half eagles were the highlight of the collection. Coin after coin graded MS63, MS64 or even MS65 and I remember a number of the ex: Eliasberg coins having absolutely sensational fiery orange-gold coloration. Two coins that I really loved were the 1850 (graded MS65 by NGC) that was so amazingly fresh and crisp in appearance it looked like it had been made last week and the MS66 1852 that, to this day, rates as one of the single finest No Motto half eagles of any date that I have seen. As I recall, many of these Philadelphia pieces were purchased by dealer Steve Contursi.

The Charlotte and Dahlonega half eagles in the Milas collection included some of the most famous (and most mind-blowing) high grade pieces known. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite as there were so many fantastic single coins. I remember the amazing MS65 1841-D that Ed Milas had bought a year earlier out of the James Stack collection for a record $88,000. In the Stack’s sale, a year later, it went for a relatively low $68,750. The Dahlonega half eagle in the sale that I liked the best was an 1853-D in MS64. While this date is relatively common in Uncirculated, this particular example (ex: Auction ’84 and Bareford) had absolutely superb color and surfaces. It brought $55,000 which I remember being a TON of money at the time. Most of the Dahlonega coins in the sale (as well as a majority of the Charlotte pieces) were purchased by dealer Winthrop Carner. Ironically, Carner ran into financial problems soon after the sale and many of the Milas coins were re-offered at the Numisma ‘95 auction where they brought considerably less than what Carner had paid for them earlier in the year.

The one Charlotte coin that everyone wanted to see in the sale was Milas’ 1859-C which NGC had graded MS66. Formerly from the Eliasberg collection, this coin remains the only Charlotte half eagle ever graded above MS65. I remember being a bit underwhelmed by the coin when I first saw it in 1995 (I saw it again a few years ago and was blown away by it...) and thought it had been the beneficiary of a push by NGC. It sold for $104,500 and it became the first Charlotte gold coin to eclipse the six-figure mark at auction.

What really excited me in this collection, though, were the New Orleans half eagles. They were amazing; probably the finest set ever assembled. The one coin that I really, really wanted to buy was the 1842-O graded MS63 by NGC. It is the finest known of three examples in Uncirculated and it has a fantastic pedigree (ex: Eliasberg and Earle collections). This was a rare instance where I liked a coin so much that I wanted to buy it to stash it away. In the end, I was the underbidder and it brought $31,900 which seems very, very reasonable today. I was able to purchase a number of the other New Orleans half eagles in the sale and I’ve handled a few of these two, three or even four times since the Milas auction in 1995(!)

If someone wanted to replicate this collection today, I’m certain it could not be done. Many of the Milas coins have, in the ensuing years, been processed and no longer show the superb, original look they had back in 1995. The number of very high grade, totally original Charlotte and Dahlonega half eagles has greatly diminished since 1995 and I’m not certain that many of the high quality Philadelphia and San Francisco half eagles in the Milas collection could be replicated today either.

I hate to sound like Grandpa Winter but they just don’t have sales today like they did with the Milas collection back in 1995...

Rekindling Your Numismatic Passion

I’ve seen it happen many times in the past few years. An avid new collector storms into the hobby and buys lots of coins but then hits critical mass and thinks about leaving numismatics. What can you do as a collector who has reached the “burnout” phase to rekindle your passion for numismatics? The first thing I would suggest is to get all of your coins together and lay them out on a table or desk. Take a good hard look at them and decide what deserves to be in the collection and what does not. If you are like any new collector, it is likely that in your initial burst of enthusiasm, you bought coins that you shouldn’t have. In retrospect, they may be ugly or they just don’t fit in with the core collection you have. My best advice is to jettison them.

Now I’m not suggesting a fire sale. The best way to sell the coins is an orderly, organized fashion. You might do it yourself or select a dealer to help you. Or, you could always choose to put the coins in an auction. If possible, give yourself at least 90-120 days to plan and execute a strategy that makes sense.

It is likely that some of the “duds” that you originally purchased are going to be losers when it comes time to sell. Assuming that you are out of love forever with a specific coin, it’s alright to sell it for a loss. Just make certain that use this as a learning experience and try not to repeat this specific mistake in the future. (FYI, even smart dealers sometimes have to sell coins for losses. Really smart dealers get out of their bad deals as quickly as possible and reinvest their money in other coins that, hopefully, will be better deals).

The next thing I would suggest to recharge your battery is to take the next $500-1,500 you were going to spend on a coin and use it to form a basic library. Buy the five to ten essential books that should be in every collector’s library and then buy useful books in your chosen field(s) of specialization. I would also suggest buying a core group of auction catalogs from the 1980’s and 1990’s as well. Find a numismatic literature dealer and tell him that you collect Liberty Seated quarters or Type Three double eagles and the chances are good that he can recommend some older but still very useful catalogs that can greatly enhance your collecting experience.

Taking the numismatic literature theme one step further, get a current auction catalog from a specialist dealer like George Kolbe, Charles Davis or Fred Lake and buy some interesting 19th or early 20th century books or catalogs. As an example, the upcoming Kolbe sale of the John Pittman library has some really wonderful books and catalogs that will make a great test for your numismatic DNA. If you find everything in the catalog to be boring and the history of numismatics and its personalities has no appeal to you, maybe you are being sent a message: coins just aren’t in your blood. But if you find some of the obscure books, catalogs, letters and manuscripts to be very exciting, then you can take this as a message: coins are in your blood but you just need to reinvigorate your interest.

Collecting "Significant" Coins

As rare coins become more expensive and harder to locate, collectors have to develop new strategies. I know of a number of collectors who are adopting a technique that I find very interesting. These collectors don’t necessarily specialize in any specific series or mint. Instead, they focus on coins that they consider “significant” or “special.” So what exactly is a “significant” or “special” coin? I would define such an item as something that, if I were at a coin show, would stop me dead in my tracks as I was strolling down the aisle looking in each dealer’s case. I might regard a particular coin as being special because it is a fully struck example of a coin that nearly always is found weakly detailed. Or, I might regard a coin as being significant (I use the two terms interchangeably) because it has great original color.

What are some of the other criteria I would base my collection of special coins on? Some would be as follows:

History: I personally like coins that have an interesting history. This might mean that an issue was struck during the first year of a design or in the final year. It may have been struck during an important period of our history (World War I or the Civil War) or was used during the Gold Rush. One of the truly appealing things to me about Numismatics in general is its historic connotations and I certainly want the majority of the coins in my collection to have a special sense of history about them.

Provenance: Some collectors could care less about the history of ownership of their coins. To me, in some ways, this is even more interesting than the coins themselves. I might not ordinarily care about a coin like a 1794 Large Cent but if I learn that it has a wonderful 125+ year pedigree including having been owned by some famous collectors I would buy it; even if it didn’t “fit” into my collection. For me, the pedigrees that are important include the modern giants such as Pittman, Norweb, Bass and Eliasberg and more esoteric collectors from the 19th and early 20th century whose names are known to me mainly from my years of collecting old auction catalogs.

Beauty: The more coins I see, the more I realize how few truly beautiful United States coins still exist. By “beautiful” I do not mean a coin’s design. From an artistic standpoint, I personally feel that most American regular issue designs are mediocre at best. What I am referring to is more of an aesthetic sense of a coin’s appearance. In other words, I like coins that are pretty. I like Bust half dollars with rings of concentric iridescent toning from storage in old coin boards. I like Dahlonega half eagles with dark natural crust on their obverse and reverse. I like blazing, lustrous coins that don’t look like they just came from the Lab.

Scarcity: I like coins that are fundamentally rare. By this, I mean issues that are rare in all grades, not just in Super Grades. I recently sold an 1859-S in VF25 (for less than $2,000) and as I researched this coin, I realized that it was truly rare. To me, it was more exciting than the common date Three Dollar gold piece in PR65 that I had sold earlier in the day for $30,000. The Proof coin was pretty and it was certainly rare but, for some reason, the circulated 1859-S quarter was far more appealing to me. When one or more of the factors that I listed come together, then this can make for a special coin. As an example, a piece that I would regard as truly irrestible would be a 1794 half dollar pedigreed to a famous Chapman Brothers auction from the 1890’s with lovely original coloration in the VF-AU grade range. It’s got history (the first half dollar struck), an interesting pedigree, the right “look” and it is a genuinely scarce coin. After I purchased it, would I instantly become a collector of early half dollars? Probably not. In fact, I might not ever buy another half dollar. But this coin would be incredibly appealing to me because it satisfies all of my criteria in determining what makes a numismatic item “special” or “significant.”

The Condition Census Defined

I make frequent reference to the term “Condition Census” in many of my articles, blogs and individual coin descriptions but it has been brought to my attention that some beginning collectors do not know what this term means. The concept of the Condition Census is credited to Dr. William Sheldon who employed it in the late 1940’s with the publication of his seminal work “Early American Cents.” The census was a “scientific” way of arriving at a coin’s value by listing, in serial order, the finest known example of a specific die variety and then a list of the next five finest. For each specific variety of early cent, a “basal value” was listed and a coin’s worth on the open market would be that value times the grade. As an example, if a specific variety had a basal value of $5 and it was graded EF40 by Sheldon’s standards, the value of the coin would be approximately $200.

This system seems somewhat quaint in the coin market of the 21st century, but the concept of the Condition Census has been co-opted to apply to a host of other series besides Large Cents. In some cases, the system is practical; in others it clearly is not.

When specifically applied to United States gold coins, the concept of a Condition Census sometimes makes sense. As an example, it is possible for an expert to create a list of the five or six finest examples of a rare issue such as an 1841-D quarter eagle. It is not practical to create a list of the five or six finest 1924 double eagles as there are numerous examples that could qualify in the Condition Census and it is virtually impossible to substantiate a claim that one is better than the other.

Sheldon’s concept of basal value certainly no longer applies to coins (when they became $10,000+ items, how could you establish an accurate basal value?) but the validity of listing the finest known examples of a specific date or major variety remains interesting to collectors. And the value of such a listing has become more and more important as collectors enter their sets into the PCGS and NGC Registries.

Most of my books have included listings of finest known and Condition Census branch mint gold coins. But beginning with my new book on New Orleans gold, I have stopped listing a Condition Census. I did this for a number of reasons. The first is that grading standards for most gold coins have clearly changed. So it made little sense to list a coin that last appeared at auction in 1997 versus another similarly graded coin that appeared for sale in 2005; in nearly all cases the 1997 coin was clearly better. The second factor was that owners of these coins (mainly dealers) were continually breaking them out of one holder and putting them into another in attempt to increase the value of the coin. It looked ridiculous, in my opinion, to have the same Condition Census coin appear in my listings as a PCGS MS61, then as an NGC MS62 and still later as a PCGS MS62.

What I have tried to do to replace this system is to list “significant examples” of a certain date. As an example, if there are five Uncirculated examples of a specific New Orleans half eagle known to exist, I’ve tried to list them all. They may not necessarily be listed in order from “best” to “worst” but I have included their prices realized when they appeared at auction and let the numbers speak for themselves.

One problem with a Condition Census listing is that there is a somewhat arbitrary nature in creating any such list. Grading will always have a degree of subjectivity attached to it and a coin that is graded MS61 may, in my opinion, not be as nice as one graded MS62 or even MS63. Let me give you a great example. A few years ago I was asked to look through what was probably the single greatest collection of Dahlonega gold ever assembled. For nearly every date, the collector had multiple coins and, in some cases, he had what were probably the first, second and even third finest known. He made the decision to reduce his holdings and wanted me to select the single coin for each date that I thought was the finest. I remember choosing an 1855-D half eagle in AU58 as a nicer coin than one in MS63 and eventually listed the AU58 coin ahead of the MS63 (both coins were graded by PCGS, in case you were wondering...) in my Dahlonega Condition Census listings.

A Condition Census listing is only valid if the person making the list is very knowledgeable and has no ulterior motive for making one coin “better” than another. I’ve always been impressed by the Large Cent collectors who, for the love of the game, keep meticulous Census listings not only for each variety but, in some instances, for die states. Now that’s what Numismatics is all about!

September 2007 Long Beach Show Review

I had very little in the way of expectations for the third and final version of this year’s Long Beach coin show. In my opinion, the show was slightly above average, primarily due to interest caused by the surge in metals price. I thought that set-up (on Wednesday) was a bit perkier than usual for a Long Beach. I sold coins to dealers who I don’t ordinarily do much business with but who are so in need of nice coins that they are, literally, doing everything they can to find material. One dealer, who was working a want list that included a number of scarcer Liberty Head double eagles, was able to find a few scarce dates in my inventory. I also sold virtually all of my generic gold to another dealer.

With auctions being as strong as they are these days, I decided to again focus my buying attention on the bourse floor. I was able to purchase more interesting coins than I would have expected at a Long Beach show. Some of the highlights are as follows:

A nice group of New Orleans gold dollar including a Condition Census PCGS MS63 1850-O

A spectacular 1867 quarter eagle in PCGS MS65, which is the Finest Known

A lovely PCGS VF25 1870-CC half dollar

An NGC NS60 example of the underrated 1882-O eagle

A superb PQ NGC MS62 1837 quarter eagle

Thursday saw a decent number of collectors attending the show, including a couple of new faces. I sold a few nice quality branch mint gold coins to brand-new collectors; something that hasn’t happened at a Long Beach for quite some time.

Friday, on the other hand, was very slow with poor attendance and limited dealer enthusiasm. Clearly, this show is pretty much over by Friday afternoon and most collectors, at this point, are hanging around and waiting for the evening auction session(s).

I can’t say that I’m sorry that I won’t be attending another Long Beach show until the Winter of 2008. None of the three I was at in 2007 were exactly barn-burners. My next two shows, in Atlanta and Baltimore, respectively, are sponsored by Whitman so, at the very least, I know they will be very well attended and professionally run.

I have also acquired a wonderful complete set of Carson City half eagles which I will be breaking up. The coins in this set range in grade from AU50 to MS63 and include a number of Finest Known and Condition Census pieces. If you have a specific want list that includes any of these, please call me or email me and let me know what you are looking for. Most are very high end for the grade with great original color and surfaces.