April 01, 2015

How Rare are High-Grade Dahlonega Quarter Eagles?

April 01, 2015/ Doug Winter

The Dahlonega mint began production of quarter eagles in 1839 and discontinued this denomination in 1859. There are a total of 20 issues and two major types: the popular one-year Classic Head (1839 only) and the Liberty Head (1840-1859).

March 17, 2015

How Rare Are Choice High-Grade Dahlonega Half Eagles?

March 17, 2015/ Doug Winter

Since I wrote the first of my three editions of Dahlonega gold books over two decades ago, I’ve sought to constantly remind collectors that truly choice, high-grade (in this instance high-grade equates to coins which grade AU55 and above) Dahlonega half eagles are rare, regardless of how “common” the issue seems to be in terms of overall rarity.

February 27, 2015

How Consistent Does Your Set Need to Be?

February 27, 2015/ Doug Winter

I had an interesting email exchange with collector M.N. who asked me, in a nutshell, if his technique was “wrong” because the set which he was building had a broad range of grades. After I gave him my answer (which was basically “there is no wrong way to build your specific set since the coins you are searching for are all rare to very rare”) it got me thinking about the consistency of a set of coins when it comes to grade and appearance.

February 16, 2015

Vertical Coin Collections

February 16, 2015/ Doug Winter

I was having a conversation with client JF, and he told me about a way he collects coins which I thought was novel and neat enough to share with you. If you are familiar with wine collecting (and drinking) you know about verticals. A vertical wine collection is when an individual pursues different vintages of the same wine type (Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc.) from the same winery. An example of this would be a vertical set of Bordeaux from Chateau Lafite Rothschild bottled between 1985 and 2015.

February 10, 2015

A Dozen Sleeper Dates in Liberty Head Proof Gold

February 10, 2015/ Doug Winter

Due to its high per-coin cost, there are not many date collectors of Proof gold coins. This means that a number of amazingly rare dates have fallen through the cracks, and offer great value to well-heeled collectors looking for exceptional individual coins to put away, or for type collectors who want more “bang for their buck” when choosing a specific coin to represent a design type for their set.

February 05, 2015

How I Became a Coin Collector (...Again)

February 05, 2015/ Doug Winter

Around six months ago, a client and friend emailed me a photo of a very pretty 1838 quarter. He wasn’t soliciting an offer; he knew that I liked the series and would no doubt appreciate the originality of said coin. Without really thinking, I answered him with an inquiry asking if the coin was for sale and if so how much it was. He quoted me a price; I said yes and didn’t give the transaction a second thought.

January 14, 2015

Sold by Douglas Winter Numismatics: Extremely Rare 1821 Half Eagle

January 14, 2015/ Doug Winter

Around a year ago, I was outbid on an amazing PCGS MS63+ 1821 half eagle. I was pretty bummed at the time as this was a coin which I truly wanted to own. But the final price realized was just too much and I walked away from the coin.

January 01, 2015

Ten Reasons Why Fives Are the New Tens, or: A Love Letter to Half Eagles

January 01, 2015/ Doug Winter

In my opinion, the size of this coin is just about perfect (confession: when it comes to silver, I like the quarter dollar as the “right” size). In the early gold series I like the size of the half eagle better than the quarter eagle or the eagle, and in the Liberty Head series, I like the size and the collectability factors. In the 20th century, I like the Indian Head half eagle both for its unique incuse design and its challenge of completability.