The Huberman Collection of Three Dollar Gold Pieces
/The Huberman Collection of Three Dollar gold was the epitome of a fresh deal. Formed over a 35+ year time frame, this was a set which had coins which ranged the gamut from pedestrian to amazing, and it had the eclectic feeling which these increasingly rare out-of-the-woodworks sets tend to display.
These coins would make for an interesting test of the Three Dollar market. With very few important business strikes or Proofs of this denomination having sold since last summer, the Huberman coins would let us know if the strength in the better date gold market included this denomination, as well as the various better-known types leading the current dated gold boom.
This was an odd set in terms of its consistency. It had pedestrian coins worth $2,000 alongside very rare high five figure++ Gem Proofs. Having met with Mr. Huberman years ago in his old school downtown Boston office (at the last Boston ANA show in 2010), I could have guessed this would be an interesting mix but even then, it was surprising to see the array of coins in person when I viewed them at the Stack’s Bowers office last month.
The sale was held yesterday, April 5th 2022, at the Stack’s Bowers Orange County offices.
The first big coin to sell was an NGC AU55 1854-D (Lot 3081) which I regarded as a very typical scrubby NGC 1854-D Three. It brought a strong $66,000 which tells me that, for the time being, a nice PCGS/CAC AU55 to A58 example of this date is likely to bring around $100,000; if not more.
Lot 3094, Huberman Collection, 1862 PCGS PR65 Deep Cameo CAC
The first really significant Proof to sell was an 1862 PCGS PR65 Deep Cameo (Lot 3094) with CAC approval. This was a lovely coin which was last sold at the 1976 ANA (my first ANA show!). It brought a very strong $108,000.
Lot 3098, Huberman Collection, 1866 PCGS PR66 Deep Cameo CAC
This result was overshadowed by Lot 3098, an incredible PCGS PR66 1866 Deep Cameo with CAC approval which was the nicest Proof of this date I’ve seen. However, I certainly didn’t expect to see this coin bring $192,000 which is easily a record price for a Proof of this date.
Lot 3100, Huberman Collection, 1868 Proof
Lot 3100 was an odd coin: a seemingly really nice 1868 Proof which was inexplicably no-graded by PCGS with the dreaded “Unc. Details-Altered Surfaces” modifier. I looked at this coin very carefully and could see no traces of alteration but even still, I was not expecting it to bring $69,000. Obviously, the buyer has confidence he can get the coin straight-graded and it’s likely he should be able to.
Lot 3104, Huberman Collection, 1872 PCGS MS66PL
My favorite coin in the collection was Lot 3104, a wonderful 1872 graded MS66PL. This was the only Gem of this date I’ve ever seen (I’ve never owned one finer than a single MS64) and I thought I’d have a shot to buy it at around $65,000. Wrong! It more than doubled my estimate at a staggering $132,000.
Lot 3105, Huberman Collection, Dished 1873 Closed 3 PCGS PR65
My second favorite coin was Lot 3105, the extremely rare dished 1873 Close 3 graded PR65 by PCGS. I don’t have the time to describe the background of this issue here. I’ve been obsessed with these ever since I saw my first example back in the mid-1980s, and as far as I can tell there are not more than three to five (likely fewer) known. I was surprised that this coin wasn’t approved by CAC as I thought it was a real Gem; I graded it PR65 CAM. It sold for a very strong $156,000.
Another Proof that I loved was the virgin original 1877 graded PR66+ Deep Cameo. It was a bit aggressive on the grade but it was the best I’ve seen of this date—and one of just 20 struck. It brought a record $144,000 which proves that a great coin like this doesn’t have to be approved by CAC to still bring a strong price.
A week ago, I would have priced the low-end PCGS MS63 1881 in the sale (Lot 3115) at around $17,500-18,000 if it were in the DWN inventory. With the Huberman coin bringing $21,600, I’d obviously have to adjust my figure upwards by 20%.
What can be gleaned from this sale? I would suggest the following:
The market for rare Proof Threes is much stronger than I had thought. There are buyers for coins at the $100,000-200,000 range; coins that as recently as six months ago would have been regarded as tough sells.
For even the most mundane business strike in this series, prices are probably 20% higher than they were a year ago.
On truly great Threes—whether they be business strikes like the Huberman 1872 or Proofs like the Dished 1873 Close 3, buyers are willing to pay record prices for non-CAC PCGS coins as long as the piece in question is cosmetically appealing and the grade isn’t way inflated.
There are a number of important Proofs of this series coming onto the market in the upcoming months and it will be interesting to see if they continue to bring record prices. My gut tells me that many (although not all) will do just that.
Would you like to assemble a set of Three Dollar gold pieces? I literally wrote the book on this series and I would be happy to work with you. Contact me via email at dwn@ont.com and let’s discuss your collecting goals.
