1859-S $2.50 NGC AU58

Only 15,200 examples were struck and this is one of my favorite "sleeper" dates in the entire San Francisco quarter eagle series. The 1859-S is very scarce in the higher AU grades and it is very rare in Uncirculated. The beauty of this date in AU58 is that it is affordable and there is a large price jump once the Mint State grades are reached. This piece is bright and quite lustrous with a good strike and just a few small marks in the fields. At less than $3,000 this is a really good value for the collector of undervalued United States gold coins.

1847-C $2.50 NGC AU55+ CAC

The 1847-C is, by far, the most available quarter eagle from this mint. It is also the best produced. These two factors combine to make this issue the perfect choice for a collector who is seeking a single affordable type example of a Charlotte quarter eagle. This particular piece is extremely high end with lovely deep rich green gold color. It appears to have never been cleaned or dipped and it is kept from an AU58 grade, I presume, only by the presence of some light, well-hidden scuffs in the left obverse field. I can't recall having handled many nicer Charlotte quarter eagle in this price range and this is the sort of coin that gets more and more appealing with repeated viewings.

1849-D $1.00 NGC EF45

The 1849-D dollar is the most available gold coin from the Dahlonega mint, making it perfect for the new collector. This example is quite choice for the grade with nice dark green-gold color and very clean surfaces. The obverse is slightly weak as often seen at the center while the reverse is sharp with a full date. An old scrape below the 49 in the date is barely noticeable. While certainly not "rare" in the absolute sense of the work, nice affordable 1849-D dollars aren't easily located and this piece would be a perfect introduction to the Wonderful World of Dahlonega.

1850-O 50C PCGS MS64+ CAC

Fully struck and very lustrous with attractive totally original russet pastel color on the obverse and, a bit less extensively, on the reverse. A few very faint scuffs in the fields narrowly remove this piece from the Gem level. I like this coin considerably more than Osburn: 7038 (at $6,613) which, while graded MS65 by NGC, had no character due to a recent dipping. Only four examples have been graded MS64+ by PCGS and, in my opinion, the entire population for Mint State 1850-O half dollars at PCGS is grossly inflated. Coins like this are wonderful value and this piece is really not all that far off, from the standpoint of appearance, from the PCGS MS65 that sold for $14,950 in the Bowers and Merena 11/10 auction.

1845 25C PCGS MS63

There are few areas in the market that offer better value than No Motto Seated Quarters and I am especially fond of the Philadelphia quarters from the 1840's. This choice, fresh example shows light russet-gold centers that are framed by flashes of fiery apricot-gold at the borders. There are a few scattered marks in the obverse fields that limit the grade but this is among the few 1845 quarters that I have seen that weren't either bright white from a recent dipping or dark and full of friction. Only four PCGS MS63's have sold at auction since 2000 and the last coin to trade was Heritage 9/08: 1512 that brought $1,783. Exceptional value at under $2,000!

Back From The Dead: Formerly Unpopular Gold Coins That Have Become Popular

As recently as five years ago, most of the rare date gold coins that I sold were from the Southern branch mints; pieces from Charlotte, Dahlonega and New Orleans. But today, these coins make up a smaller percentage of my inventory and my sales. I now find myself making a market in coins that I formerly considered very difficult--if not impossible--to sell. What are these "back from the dead" coins and why are they suddenly popular? The Poster Children for impossible-to-sell rare date gold coins used to be expensive Philadelphia and San Francisco issues from the late 1850's, 1860's and early 1870's. These coins have now garnered a small but growing following. After years of being unsalable they can now find homes BUT only if they a) are choice for the grade and have good eye appeal (CAC verification helps) b) are larger denomination coins (a half eagle or larger) and c) are either low mintage issues or are from the Civil War era.

I was going to add one more point: relating to price. But the more that I think about it, the more I realize that the "right" coin of this type doesn't necessarily have to be affordable (i.e., below $10,000). In fact, I can now sell $25,000 or $50,000 coins that I regarded as formerly illiquid if they have one thing going for them.

And that's rarity.

Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. A few weeks ago, I bought an 1874 half eagle in PCGS MS62. It was a great coin: fundamentally rare, beautiful, and very low population. A few years ago, this is a coin that I would have passed on by rationalizing that "it was cool but how could I possibly sell it?" But I took a chance on it because it was a coin that I thought "if I was a collector, I'd want this coin in my collection."

Within three hours of posting the coin on my website, I had four serious inquiries about it. Two of the inquiries were from collectors who are working on sets of Liberty Head half eagles. But the other two were from collectors who liked the concept of this coin. It wasn't cheap (around $15,000). But it was the second or third finest known of probably no more than five or six that exist in Uncirculated and it was a coin that is actually pretty rare in all grades. In comparison to Southern branch mint, a coin like this nice Uncirculated 1874 half eagle suddenly seems like a heckuva deal.

So why are coins like this becoming more popular?

I have a few theories. Here are a few of them.

1. Trends Has Come Down. In the past, Trends was too high on some of these coins. Certain Trends values have come down, in some cases substantially, making these coins look like better values at the new, lower numbers.

2. Rarity Is In Vogue. For a number of reasons, new collectors are more attracted to really rare coins than common coins in uncommon grades. A coin like, say, an 1862 half eagle or an 1863 eagle is really rare in any grade and this appeals to this new, sophisticated breed of collector/investor.

3. Half Eagles and Eagles Are Being Collected by Date. Both the Liberty Head half eagle and eagle series are now being seriously collected by date. This makes certain formerly unpopular semi-key issues (I'll throw out one as an example: the 1876-S half eagle) more popular if the coin is right.

4. Auction Prices Are Nutty. When you see auction prices like an 1875 eagle in PCGS AU53+ for $345,000 this drives the market. It suddenly becomes a lot easier to sell an 1862 eagle in nice AU55.

5. Collectors Crave Value. "Value" is the new mantra of the coin market. Collectors seek coins that have price levels that make sense. The factors that I listed above combine to make coins like 1864 half eagles or 1867-S half eagles seem like good deals.

6. Not All These Coins Have Been Ruined. Something that has hurt the Southern gold market is the relative unavailability of choice, original coins. Certain P+S mint issues have been spared the processing/doctoring that has beseiged C+D gold due to their relative obscurity.

So does this mean that I am done with Southern branch mint coins and, from now on, want to be known as Mr. P Mint half eagle? Certainly not; I love Southern coins and will continue to specialize in them. But I do note a renewed interest in non-Southern coins and I think that this is excellent for the overall health of the rare date gold coin market.

1839/8 $10.00 PCGS AU53 CAC

Head of 1838, Large Letters reverse. There are two distinct types of eagles made in 1839. The first--and more available--is the Head of 1838 which has a mintage of 25,801. The second--and scarcer--is the Head of 1840 which has a mintage of 12,447. The 1839/8 Type of 1838 is reasonably scarce in all grades but it becomes very scarce in the mid to high AU grades and it is quite rare in Uncirculated. The present example has the luster and body of an AU55 to AU58 coin but it has been net graded as an AU53 due to some chatter in the fields. These marks are clearly visible but not overly detracting. The color of this coin is a nice natural light butter-gold hue and the strike is very sharp with the exception of the radial lines in the stars which, as on most 1839/8 eagles, are weakly impressed. The last auction trade for this variety in PCGS AU53 is Heritage 1/09: 5499 which brought $7,475. The current CAC census for this variety is just two in this grade and one approved higher. A great coin for the advanced collector of Liberty Head eagles.

1857-O $5.00 NGC AU53

A beautiful, original coin with deep natural green-gold and russet hues on the obverse and the reverse. This date is rare in all grades and it is extremely hard to find with natural color as most have been dipped and/or processed. This piece is well-detailed, has very clean surfaces and shows far above-average eye appeal for the date and grade. A total of 13,000 were struck of which around 100 or so are known today. Most are seen in the VF-EF grade range and AU 1857-O half eagles are quite rare with two dozen or so accounted for. How hard is it to find an example in AU53? Well, since 1999 there have been just two sold at auction: Heritage 1/06: 5219 (graded NGC AU53 by NGC that sold for $4,485) and Bass II: 1100 (graded AU53 by PCGS that sold for $3,680 all the way back in 1999). If you collect New Orleans half eagles by date, you know the importance of this offering. If you don't but like cool coins priced at under $5,000, this piece should also generate some interest.

1848-O $10.00 NGC AU55

The 1848-O is one of the hardest New Orleans eagles from the 1840's to locate but it is actually seen from time to time in Uncirculated, unlike dates such as the 1842-O, 1846-O and 1849-O that are nearly impossible in MS60 or better. This flashy, golden-green example has plenty of natural luster remaining and it shows the typical strike for the issue: an obverse that has a slightly sunken appearance and a sharper reverse. There is a lot of "meat" left on this coin and the surfaces show just a few scattered marks that are consistent with the assigned grade. Only a few dozen properly graded AU 1848-O eagles are known and relatively few have the eye appeal and natural appearance that this piece shows.