1855 $20.00 PCGS AU53 CAC

This is one of the nicest AU53 examples of this date that I have seen. It is very lustrous with nice orange-gold color and extremely choice surfaces for the date. There is one small reeding mark on the cheek that narrowly knocks this from an AU55 grade but the eye appeal is really exceptional, especially when one considers how "baggy" this date typically comes. A very scarce issue and great value at under $3,000.

1859-C $5.00 NGC AU55 CAC

Early die state without the extensive obverse rust seen on many examples. The 1859-C is, along with the 1860-C, one of the most difficult Charlotte coins of this denomination, to find with good eye appeal. Due to faulty annealing and/or incomplete hubbing, these two dates have an odd "unfinished" look which is visible even on high grade coins. This example, while not "perfect," still has a far above-average look for the date with nice overall detail and lovely deep natural green-gold color on the obverse and reverse. There are a few scattered marks seen in the right obverse field. This ia ctually one of the best-looking circulated 1859-C half eagles that I can recall having seen in some time and if you collect this series in circulated grades, you'll appreciate the originality and eye appeal of this coin.

1872-CC $5.00 NGC AU55 CAC

There are only two half eagles from the Carson City mint that are unknown in Uncirculated: the 1872-CC and the 1878-CC. The 1872-CC is not as rare, overall, as the 1878-CC but it is a scarce coin in all grades with slightly more than 100 known from the original mintage of 16,980. The present example is completely new to the market, having recently been found in Europe. It is the single most original 1872-CC half eagle that I have seen with lovely deep, even green-gold color atop lightly worn, satiny surfaces. This date is typically seen bright and many of the coins in AU holders have been recolored (I have seen at least two with horrible Cheeto orange color). This is compounded by the fact that the surfaces on most are deeply abraded. Not so on this piece, as it is very clean with no marks of note. In the last few years, I have only handled one 1872-CC half eagle that was slightly better than this; an NGC AU58 that was CAC approved. Comparing this example to recent offerings, it is similar in quality to Heritage 4/06: 1890 (PCGS 55; $28,750) and much nicer than Heritage 1/23/07: 1415 (PCGS 55; $25,000) or Stack's Bowers 6/11: 9492 (PCGS 55; $25,300). The demand for choice Carson City gold coins has grown considerably in the last few years and, in my opinion, this is the best 1872-CC half eagle that is available. It is the only AU55 that has received CAC approval (two in AU58 have as well). A very important offering for the advanced specialist.

1800 $5.00 NGC MS63 CAC

BD-2, Rarity-3. Blunt 1 variety. While not given much of a premium over more common dates of this type, the 1800 is a scarce issue in the higher Uncirculated grades and an issue which doesn't get the respect that it deserves. I have built a number of date sets of 1800-1812 half eagles in MS63 and above and nice examples of the 1800 have always proven to be elusive. This high end example has a very fresh appearance with attractive even light green-gold hues on the obverse and the reverse. This coin is really "as struck" and it has the body and appeal of a borderline Gem but there are a few mint-made issues that need to be noted. There is a small, thin vertical planchet flaw on Liberty's face that is hard to see as well as some very faint adjustment marks at the obverse center. On the reverse, there is a tiny crack in the planchet that curves from the top of the arrows into the shield. But other than these, the surfaces are immaculate and the overall eye appeal is well above average for the date. There have been just two MS63 examples of the 1800 half eagle in MS63 sold at auction in the last two+ years.

Ex Heritage 10/11: 4859 where it brought $29,900.

The NFL GM's Theory of Coin Buying

Is it possible that a strategy used by the General Manager of your favorite National Football League team can be applied to building your collection? This might not be as much of a stretch as you are, no doubt, thinking - and I invite you to read this blog and give my theory some thought. Have you ever wondered why some NFL teams select a linebacker in the first round of the draft even though they already have three excellent starters in their line-up and some good backups as well? What were they thinking? They were probably using the "draft the best available athlete" strategy and this can, in my opinion, be applied to your coin collection.

First, a little background is in order here. Some coin collectors have a very clearly defined focus to their set(s). They might collect something like Charlotte quarter eagles by date and they know exactly what they need to complete the set. But many other collectors are not this focused and I frequently get emails from collectors or calls from existing clients asking me "Doug, what set should I be focused on?"

The key word here is "focus" and I feel that focus is something that's very important for a new or advanced collector. Having a focus gives you a sense of purpose as a collector and allows you to see a beginning and an end of your endeavors.

But "focus" means one thing to one collector and another thing to another. Some collectors are exceptionally focused and are excited by the thought of collecting every known die variety and die state of 1798 half eagles; for others this would be torture. So how exactly can the "NFL theory" work for the collector who knows he needs some sort of direction to follow but who doesn't want to follow an overly-narrow course?

Remember what I said earlier about drafting the best available athlete? Well what if a collector's focus was the "best available coin?" This might mean that he wasn't buying a certain Charlotte quarter eagle because it fit into a date set but rather because it was scarce or had a great "crusty" look or it was low population (or a combination of all these factors).

Most collectors have laid some basic ground work for their collections. They might buy just gold coins, as opposed to coins in all metals. Taking this further, what if the collector then decides to specialize in gold coins struck between 1800 and 1900? There are a number of things this collector can now decide to become more focused without becoming too much of a specialist. Some examples might include the following:

-Buying coins priced between $2,500 and $5,000 -Buying coins with a certain sort of "look" -Buying coins with original mintages of less than 10,000 -Buying coins that are in the top 10% of all those graded for the date -Buying coins from branch mints -Buying coins not from branch mints

Its my belief that too many collectors worry about being over-specialized and that, in order to deal with DWN they have to be specialists. This isn't the case.

Coin collecting should be about buying what interests you and what makes sense for your budget. I know of many collectors who are, in a loose sense of the word "specialists" but not in the traditional sense.

1890-CC $20.00 NGC AU58 CAC

This very lightly worn CC double eagle shows very clean surfaces for the date and grade. Both the obverse and rerverse are lustrous and show pleasing orange-gold and rose color. In my opinion, this choice, clean example is preferable the typical MS60 to MS61 example that might have a bit more lustrous but which also has many more abrasions and less eye appeal. The 1890-CC is one of the more available double eagles from this mint and the lack of date premium ascribed to this issue makes it ideal for type purposes.

1855 $20.00 PCGS EF40

The 1855 is one of my favorite "sleeper" Type One double eagles. This choice, evenly worn example has nice even green-gold color and very sharp overall detail. The obverse shows some abrasions across the fields; the reverse is choicer. With current spot price at close to $1,800, this coin melts at a bit over $1,700. How can you go wrong buying such a scarce date at such a small premium factor?

1863 $20.00 PCGS AU58

The two rarest Civil War double eagles are the 1862 and 1863, in that order. Both dates have become quite expensive in Uncirculated grades, making nice AU58's (like this coin) a viable option for most collectors. This piece is semi-prooflike and very boldly detailed with no real wear but enough friction on the high spots to accurately grade it as an AU58. But this isn't your average, run-of-the-mill AU58. It is a lovely "super slider" with nice light orange-gold and rose color and great overall eye appeal. There are some abrasions on both sides, probably from being shipped loose in a bag, but other than a shallow scrape below star one on the obverse, none of these are very detracting. The last few AU58 examples of this date that I have seen at auction or on the bourse floor have traded in the $14,000-15,000 range but lacked the overall eye appeal that this piece has in spades. A terrific coin for the advanced collector of Type One double eagles or the Civil War gold specialist.

Mintmark Varieties of Dahlonega Half Eagles

For variety collectors, the half eagles struck at the Dahlonega mint are fertile ground. There are a number of very interesting varieties, but currently just a handful of collectors appreciate them. With the upcoming release of the third edition of my Dahlonega book, I feel that this situation may change. In the first two editions of this book, the variety section(s) were not illustrated and, to be honest, had a number of errors and omissions. Thanks to the assistance of Brian Kollar, a cataloger at Heritage Auctions, this has changed. The variety information in the new Dahlonega book is truly "state-of-the art" and I think it will jump-start this area of the market.

Brian spent a lot of time and effort helping me with the varieties. One thing that I have learned from his groundbreaking work--and something I'd like to share with collectors of Dahlonega half eagles--involves the numerous mintmark sizes found on these coins. I think it will be helpful to illustrate each of the three mintmark sizes used and to discuss which years these are found on. I'm also going to discuss the relative scarcity and importance of these varieties.

There are three mintmark sizes seen on Dahlonega half eagles. These are as follows:

Small D: This mintmark is found on 1840-D, 1841-D, 1842-D Small Date, 1842-D Large Date, and 1843-D half eagles. In the new book, the reverses that employ the Small mintmark are lettered as follows: C,D, E and F. It is illustrated below:

Medium D: This mintmark is found on 1843-D, 1844-D, 1854-D, 1855-D, 1859-D, 1860-D, and 1861-D. In the new book, the reverses that employ the Medium mintmark are lettered as follows: G, CC and JJ. It is illustrated below:

Large D:. This mintmark is the most common size and it is found on the 1838-D, 1839-D, 1840-D, 1841-D, 1845-D, 1846-D (both the normal mintmark and the D/D), 1847-D, 1848-D (both the normal mintmark and the D/D), 1849-D, 1850-D, 1851-D, 1852-D, 1853-D, 1854-D, 1855-D, 1856-D, 1857-D, 1858-D, 1859-D, and 1860-D. In the new book, the reverses that use the Large mintmark are lettered as follows: A-B, H-Z, AA, BB and DD-II.

There are six different years in which Dahlonega half eagles are known with more than one mintmark size. Let's take a look at each of these years and discuss the different varieties.

1840-D: There are a total of two different varieties known for this year.

The first is the Large D (Winter Variety 3-B) which is recognized by PCGS as the Tall D. For the sake of consistency I refer to it here as a Large D, but it is sized and configured differently than what is seen in later years. My guess is that this punch was created by Gobrecht and shows his style; the later Large D punch was by Gobrecht and was executed in his distinctive style. The 1840-D Large (or Tall) D half eagle is the more common of the two varieties seen for this year.

The second is the Small D (Winter Variety 4-C) which is recognized by PCGS as the Small D. It is usually seen with a die crack from the rim through the right diagonal of the V in FIVE through the right side of the mintmark and then up onto the shield. This variety is very scarce.

1841-D: There are three die varieties for this year which use two different mintmark sizes.

Winter 5-B uses the Large (or Tall) mintmark first seen on the 1840-D. This is a rare variety and one that is likely to sell for a premium. It is believed that only 4,105 examples were produced early in the year.

Winter 5-D and Winter 6-D use the Small mintmark but it is not the same one as seen on the 1840-D half eagle. Variety 5-D is common; Variety 6-D (which shows repunching on all four digits of the date) appears to be rare.

1843-D: There are two die varieties known for this year.

The first has a Small mintmark as seen on the 1842-D Small Date. Designated as Winter Variety 10-F, it is quite rare and it should sell for a good premium over the other variety of the year.

The second, Winter 11-G, has a Medium mintmark and it is also seen on the 1844-D. Interestingly, it can be best determined by its obverse as it shows a line of three tiny die lumps between the first and second stars which is not present on Variety 10-F. This variety is quite common.

PCGS recognizes two mintmark sizes for the 1853-D half eagle, but this is not correct. All 1853-D half eagles have a Large mintmark. PCGS lists six coins in the population report as having a Medium mintmark.

The next year in which two different mintmark sizes are known for Dahlonega half eagles is 1854.

1854-D: There are a total of four die varieties known.

The two most common varieties of the year, Winter 36-AA and Winter 37-BB, have a Large mintmark.

The rarest of the four varieties is Winter 37-CC, which has a Medium mintmark. This variety should sell for a premium over the Small mintmark but it is less likely to than other years, given how common the 1854-D is as a date.

The most unusual variety of the year, Winter 37-DD, actually has "no" mintmark (!) It was, of course, struck at the Dahlonega mint but the mintmark was so faintly entered into the reverse die that it is sometimes totally impossible to see. Examples do exist, however, with traces of the top of the D.

1855-D: There are two die varieties known for this year.

The more common of the two, Winter 38-CC, has a Medium mintmark. It is appears that this is the same mintmark first used in 1854 to strike Winter 37-CC.

The rarer of the two, Winter 38-EE, has a Large mintmark. It appears to be very scarce and possibly even quite rare.

1859-D: There are two die varieties known for this year.

The first, Winter 43-CC, has a Medium mintmark and it is common. It is the same reverse that was used to strike Winter 37-CC (1854-D) and Winter 38-CC (1855-D).

The second variety, Winter 44-HH, uses a Large mintmark and it is very rare. It uses the same reverse first employed to strike Winter 42-HH (1858-D).

1860-D: There are three varieties known for this year.

The first, Winter 45-HH, has a Large mintmark. It uses the same reverse as on Winter 42-HH (1858-D) and Winter 44-D (1859-D). The second, Winter 45-II, also has a Large mintmark but it is placed closer to the branch than on Winter 45-HH. The former is very rare and the latter is rare.

The third and final variety of the year is Winter 45-JJ. It has a Medium mintmark and is also found on the 1861-D half eagle. It is common.

One can't discuss the mintmark size varieties of Dahlonega half eagles and not discuss the spectacular 1846-D over D and 1848-D over D varieties.

There are actually two different varieties of 1846-D/D half eagle, Winter 17-J and Winter 18-J. The first has a low date and it was also used on the 1846-D Normal Mintmark, Winter 17-I. On the reverse, the mintmark was first punched too high and too far to the right. The second mintmark is lower and further to the left. The second variety of 1846-D/D, Winter 18-J, has a slightly different date punch with the numerals placed a bit higher in the field. The 1846-D/D is common but it is popular due to the fact that it is clearly visible to the naked eye.

A similar but less known variety exists for the 1848-D. The 1848-D/D half eagle, Winter 22-O, shows the original mintmark punched too low and the second punched to the left and then effaced. This variety is much more subtle than the 1846-D/D and unless it is an early die state with both of the mintmark punches visible to the naked eye, it doesn't command a premium.

The mintmark varieties that I have listed here are the ones that I believe to be important and to be the most potentially collectible if and when Dahlonega half eagles become collected in this fashion. There are, of course, dozens of less obvious varieties and this includes some that are very rare.