Based on the somewhat disappointing auction results from the most recent Stack’s Bowers Baltimore auction (November 2022), as well as from anecdotal comments from clients and dealers, I think the rare date gold market has entered a period which I have termed “Fairmont Fatigue.” By this, I mean that the audience for Liberty Head half eagles, eagles, and double eagles from the source branded the “Fairmont Hoard” by Stack’s Bowers has now reached a saturation point.

*1859-O $20.00 PCGS AU53, ex Fairmont, from the DWN archives*

I’ve heard a litany of reasons for this market malaise. These include “there’s too many coins in this deal,” “we don’t know when these coins are going to stop entering the market,” “Stacks Bowers hasn’t been transparent with these coins,” and “PCGS and CAC are overgrading the coins.”

I have been a cheerleader for this hoard ever since I saw the first wave of coins around four years ago. I have no ownership interest in the Fairmont coins, although I have spent millions of dollars on coins from this source ranging from Charlotte half eagles to New Orleans eagles to Carson City double eagles. As someone who appreciates coins with natural color and unadulterated surfaces, I really like 80% of the Fairmont coins I have seen thus far. Considering that at a typical coin auction, I like less than 10% of the gold coins in my bailiwick, I think this percentage is remarkable.

Part of this fatigue is understandable. There have now been three Fairmont auctions and a number of dates which are very infrequently seen in the marketplace have been present in each sale. As an example, the rare 1863 half eagle has been represented by a PCGS/CAC AU58 in April 2022 (which sold for $78,000), another PCGS/CAC AU58 which sold in August 2022 (it brought $50,400), and a non-CAC PCGS AU55 which realized $28,800 in November 2022.

*1863 $5.00 in PCGS AU58 from the DWN archives*

Based on these three sales I would say that the market has dramatically overreacted. The 1863 half eagle is a very rare issue in all grades with likely no more than 40-50 known and all three of the coins sold by Stack’s Bowers in 2022 are in the Condition Census for the date. While the market for this date in Choice AU is somewhat thin, certainly it is vibrant enough to handle the incursion of three coins, no?

Part of the blame here has to be placed on Stack’s Bowers as they have given collectors and dealers no guidance as to what we can expect in the future. Are there two more 1863 half eagles, or are there 20? We can make assumptions that the nicest single coins from this hoard were sold first (in the April 2022 auction) and that if there is another set of Fairmont half eagles offered, the 1863 half eagle is likely going to grade lower than AU55. But in 2022, people have become far more demanding in regards to numismatic transparency. I have spoken with a number of collectors who are spooked by the seemingly endless number of coins in the Fairmont hoard, and they have become gun-shy as a result.

The grading complaints, in my opinion, make no sense. I think both PCGS and CAC have done a really good—and really consistent—job of grading the coins. If you want to get super nitpicky, some of the AU53 coins (to pick a totally random example) might actually be nice AU50s, but there are also plenty of AU53s which could just as easily have graded AU55.

It is very important to note that the demand for nice quality dated gold still exceeds the supply. After I’ve bitched and moaned for years about the lack of choice, original Dahlonega gold in EF and better grades available in the market, why would I look a gift horse in the mouth when I have had the chance to purchase multiple examples of most every date in the half eagle series? I would personally buy 20 or more 1848-D (random example II) half eagles in crusty, original EF45 to AU55 if they became available and as long as I sold them intelligently, it wouldn’t cause the current value of said coin to drop a single penny.

Some of you might remember when the market for rare Proof gold was overwhelmed by the concurrent sales of the Bass, Pittman, Childs, Donald Carter, James Stack, and other collections (offered between 1995 and 2000) which had strong date runs of really rare pre-1890 issues. I can remember seeing two or three examples of incredibly rare issues like Proof 1872 half eagles or Proof 1868 eagles in dealer’s inventories and thinking ”hey, maybe these dates aren’t really that rare...”

Of course, we now know that these early Proofs are TRULY rare (no Proof 1868 eagles have sold at auction since 2006!) and that what occurred in the late 1990s/early 2000s was an aberration caused by a sudden surge in supply.

And this is exactly what is happening in 2022 with issues such as the 1863 half eagle. The Fairmont Hoard has introduced at least three nice AU examples onto the market, but unlike with the Proof gold scenario cited above, we don’t know when this supply will end.

As early as 2005, I can recall saying to other dealers and collectors that we would never again have market conditions where multiple Proof 1872 half eagles were available and this has proven to be true.

*1872-CC $10.00 PCGS VF35 CAC, ex Fairmont, from the DWN archives*

I honestly believe that five years from now (November 2027), we will look back at 2022 and reminisce about the amazing Fairmont coins which were available but which are now off the market in tightly-held collections.

If I can impart one informed opinion from a grizzled veteran of the Dated Gold Wars is that we are currently in a Golden Era for choice, original Liberty Head half eagles, eagles, and double eagles and that we are unlikely to ever see coins of this unadulterated quality again.

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