1877-S $20.00 PCGS MS62 CAC

Superb quality for the date and grade with a semi-prooflike obverse and a mostly frosty reverse which are both covered with lovely orange-gold and green shadings. This coin is about as close to being an MS63 as is possible and the dealer I purchased it from (one of the smartest in the business) told me he tried it multiple times in an attempt to get it into an MS63 holder. And he did so with good reason as a PCGS MS63 example of this date, if available, would be an easy sell in the $17,000-19,000 range. Heritage 6/12: 5281, also graded MS62 by PCGS and also approved by CAC, just sold for $7,475 and in my opinion it was not as attractive as the present example. A significant issue due to its status as the first Type Three double eagle from the San Francisco mint and a truly lovely coin for the date and grade.

CAC has approved four in this grade with none higher.

1872 $20.00 PCGS EF45 CAC

A nice, original example with clean, lightly marked surfaces and good overall eye appeal. The 1872 is dozens of times scarcer than the 1873 Open 3, 1875 and 1876 yet it sells for essentially no premium in this grade. Unbeatable value at less than $2,000!

1872 $1.00 PCGS MS63 CAC

When I was offered this coin I thought to myself that it had been a long, long time since I'd seen an 1872 gold dollar in this grade. A quick check revealed that the last MS63 1872 gold dollar to be sold at auction was all the way back in October 1999 and that coin (ex Bass II: 181) brought $2,530. I was further sold by the fact that this is a truly nice coin for the grade with good color, clean surfaces and legitimate eye appeal. I think the PCGS population figures for this date are insanely swelled by resubmissions and the fact that no MS63's have sold at auction in thirteen years makes me feel that their population figures have to be discounted. If you are a slave to Trends, you won't but this coin but if, like me, you are intrigued by the fact that the last MS63 gold dollar sold brought $2,520 thirteen years ago....you'll buy this coin and you won't think twice!

1807 $2.50 PCGS EF45 CAC

BD-1, R-3. The 1807 is the most available early quarter eagle with an estimated 250-300 known to exist in all grades from the original mintage of 6,812. It is usually seen in the AU50 to MS62 range which makes it a date (and a type) that is priced out of the range of many collectors. In problem-free EF45, the 1807 is seen even less frequently than its low population figures would suggest (can you say "regrades??") and this is verifiable by the fact that no PCGS EF45 has sold at auction since Heritage 2/03: 8094. This example has warm sunset gold color at the borders which frames green-gold centers; a dab of reddish color can be seen at the central reverse. For the grade, there is a good amount of luster and the surfaces are free of severe abrasions, adjustment marks or imperfections. I think this coin is much closer to AU50 than EF45 (I tried a number of times to upgrade it) and you would be hard-pressed to find another Capped Bust Right quarter eagle in this grade and price range with as much eye appeal as this piece.

1874-CC $20.00 NGC AU53 CAC

Until a few years ago, this was a misunderstood date that was thought to be reasonably common. We now know that the 1874-CC is scarce in all AU grades and rare in Uncirculated with anything over MS60 to MS61 being virtually unobtainable. This example has the body and appearance of an AU55 to an AU58 but it has just a few too many small, shallow nicks to be graded as such. It will make an excellent date representative for most collectors of CC double eagles.

CAC has approved four 1874-CC double eagles in AU53 with twelve finer.

1890 $20.00 PCGS MS62

Along with the 1889, the 1890 is a sleeper date in the Type Three series that is scarce in properly graded MS62 and rare in MS63 and above. This lustrous example shows the usual amount of abrasions for the grade but it has natural orange-gold and rose shadings that give it very good overall eye appeal. In MS63, Trends jumps to $13,500 and a solid PCGS MS63 example will cost you around $9,000 to $11,000 depending on quality.

1881-CC $5.00 PCGS EF45 CAC

The 1881-CC is, by a large margin, the rarest Carson City half eagle produced after 1878. There were only 13,886 struck and this issue saw extensive local use in commerce, meaning that survivors tend to be both well-worn. This Choice EF example has great eye appeal for the date and grade with nice medium orange-gold color over clean, vibrant surfaces. There have been no PCGS EF45 examples sold at auction since the Goldberg 6/04: 2512 (that's eight years if you are keeping score at home...) and I think the 1881-CC remains a very undervalued issue in the Carson City half eagle series.

CAC has approved just this one example in EF45 with five better.

1847-C $5.00 PCGS EF40

This coin is so crusty that if it were raw, I would handle it only with rubber gloves...it's that dirty! There is dirt, in fact, all over the obverse and reverse recesses and this nicely contrasts with the deep, natural green-gold color. You can spend around two thousand dollars on a processed EF40 with no character or you can pay a few hundred dollars more and own a piece that is unmolested and as nasty as all get out...your choice.

1798 Large 8, 13 Stars Reverse $5.00 PCGS EF45

BD-5, High Rarity-5. Die State C with a massive terminal crack on the obverse that starts at the rim above star seven, runs through the entire length of the portrait and through the 8 in the date and ends at the rim at 5:00. The 1798 is the most affordable half eagle from the 18th century and this makes it extremely popular with collectors. There are a host of varieties and it is among the most fascinating early gold issues in my opinion. This is an extremely choice example for the grade with good detail and attractive rich reddish color on the obverse and reverse. The central reverse is weak as always seen on the late die state of this variety; when you look at how massive the aforementioned obverse crack is, you will understand why there is not much detail at the central reverse. I think PCGS was spot-on in assigning this coin an EF45 grade but it is much nicer than most 1798 half eagles in 45 holders. The last APR for a PCGS EF45 was in Heritage 2004 ANA sale and the last I saw, in the inventory of a knowledgeable Southern dealer, was not as nice and priced to me at $13,500. Coins like this are in great demand and once this is sold, who knows when another will become available?