Classic collectible coins continue to increase in value

By Steve Roach - www.steveroachonline.com
First published in the February 6, 2012, Special Edition of Coin World

Some coins historically have been considered classic key coins, and acquiring these relatively expensive coins signals a purchaser’s commitment to collecting. Key coins in collector-friendly circulated grades have historically been among the strongest stores of value in numismatics. A look at their prices over the past decade shows a trend: that quality collector coins increase in price over time.

(Image, Left) The 1909-S Lincoln, V.D.B. cent is a classic key date cent popular with collectors as both a one-year subtype and a product of the San Francisco Mint.

The prices for nice circulated examples have risen steadily.
While common examples of Morgan and Peace dollars appropriate for type purposes can be purchased for little more than their silver content, Trade dollars and Draped Bust dollars require effort and selectivity to find a problem-free example that meets a buyer’s personal standards of attractiveness.

For example, a handsome Extremely Fine 40 Trade dollar — an infrequently found issue and unusual denomination — was valued at the $135 level a decade ago. Today, nice-looking examples in that grade are rarely found for less than $200 and typically approach $250.

Another example of a historically expensive, classic collectible coin that is most popularly collected as a type coin is a Draped Bust dollar in Very Fine 20. These too have roughly doubled in price in the last decade. Ten years ago examples were trading at $1,200, while today problem-free examples with pleasant surfaces trade for around $2,000.

This trend also shows itself with key dates. A decade ago, VF-20 examples of a 1909-S Lincoln, V.D.B. cent traded at around $600. Five years later they jumped in price to the $800 level, and today dealers routinely price nice examples at the $1,000 level. The 1914-D Lincoln cent, a lesser rarity in the series, was valued at $150 in Fine 12 a decade ago. Today, examples in that grade can sell for as much as $350 at local coin shops.

In recent months, 1916-D Winged Liberty Head dimes in Very Good 8 have traded at auction at the $1,500 level, but a decade ago an example in that grade could have been purchased for half that price.

The upward trend in prices can be seen across nearly all classic key issues in the $100 to $2,500 price range.

A development in the past decade that has perhaps contributed to the increase in prices is that collectors are increasingly demanding that their collector-grade key coins and expensive type coins be encapsulated by third-party grading services. As many classic key dates are commonly counterfeited or altered, and early type coins are often repaired, third-party grading provides buyers with the confidence that their expensive coins are what they appear to be. Further, certification helps remove any surprises when it is time to sell.


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Steve Roach is a Dallas, Texas, based rare coin appraiser and consultant.  He also works with 19th and 20th century European and American paintings is an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers and sits on its board of directors.  Steve is also the associate editor of Coin World.  Visit Steve online at www.steveroachonline.com

Evaluating the FUN auctions: Some rarities lag prior prices

By Steve Roach - www.steveroachonline.com
First published in the January 31, 2012 issue of Coin World

While the two seven-figure coins offered at Heritage Auctions’ 2012 Florida United Numismatists auctions — a 1793 Flowing Hair, Chain, With Periods cent graded Mint State 65 brown and an 1829 Capped Head half eagle graded Proof 64 — both brought $1.38 million, multiples more than their last times at the auction block, not all lots established record prices.

Image (left): Coins don’t always appreciate in value, as evidenced by this NGC Mint State 68 1937-S Indian Head 5-cent coin that realized $11,500 at the recent FUN auctions. The same coin had sold for $26,450 at a 2009 auction.

Although some coins from the Dr. and Mrs. Steven L. Duckor Collection of Saint-Gaudens $20 double eagles set records, others performed at or below expectations. For example, a 1931 example graded Mint State 66 that was formerly in the collection of Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. sold within expectations for $126,500. That price was an improvement on the $17,600 that it realized in 1982 when it was offered as part of the Eliasberg estate, and comparable to three 2007 auction offerings where similarly graded examples realized $126,500 to $143,750.

In contrast, the Duckor Collection’s top lot, a 1921 double eagle graded MS-66, realized $747,500 — big money, but less than the $1,092,500 that a peer example brought as part of the Philip Morse Collection in 2005. Duckor’s coin had last appeared at auction in 1984 where it brought $57,500.

Sometimes auction descriptions provide the price that a coin last sold for at auction, seemingly to support a coin’s value. This tactic was used for some lots in the Teton Ranch Collection of often finest-known Numismatic Guaranty Corp. certified Indian Head 5-cent coins. Most of the high-value lots sold for less than the prices achieved at their last public offering as noted in the catalog.

The collection’s top lot, an MS-64 1916 Doubled Die Obverse 5-cent coin, a legendary rarity, realized $172,500. The same coin brought $276,000 when offered at an April 2008 Bowers and Merena auction.

A 1919-S 5-cent piece graded MS-66 by Numismatic Guaranty Corp realized $25,300, a far cry from its last trip to auction in 2008 where it brought $92,000, while an NGC MS-66★ 1918-S 5-cent coin realized $23,000 in contrast to the $51,750 that it brought at a 2009 auction.

Perhaps most the most cautionary result was a 1926-S Indian Head 5-cent coin that sold for $92,000, a seemingly strong price until one considers that at its last offering in April 2008 it brought $322,000, establishing a record price for a 1926-S 5-cent coin.

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Steve Roach is a Dallas, Texas, based rare coin appraiser and consultant.  He also works with 19th and 20th century European and American paintings is an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers and sits on its board of directors.  Steve is also the associate editor of Coin World.  Visit Steve online at www.steveroachonline.com

1793 Chain cent sets record for U.S. copper coin at auction selling for $1.38 million

By Steve Roach
First published in the January 23, 2012, issue of Coin World

Two early United States coins with provenances that trace them back to legendary collections broke the million dollar barrier when they crossed the auction block in Orlando, Fla., during an auction at the Florida United Numismatists convention.

The 1793 Flowing Hair, Chain, With Periods cent, top, and 1829 Capped Head, Large Date gold $5 half eagle, bottom, each sold at auction for $1.38 million.

On Jan. 4, during the first of two Platinum Night sessions, Heritage Auctions sold a 1793 Flowing Hair, Chain, Periods cent, graded Mint State 65 brown, for $1,380,000. On Jan. 5, during the second Platinum Night session, an 1829 Capped Head, Large Date gold $5 half eagle, graded Proof 64, also realized $1,380,000.

The Flowing Hair, Chain cent’s price now makes it the most expensive cent sold at auction, breaking the record set in 2009 when the finest known 1795 Liberty Cap, Reeded Edge cent, sold for $1,265,000 as part of the Dan Holmes Collection of large cents.

The Chain cent sold in the auction is the Sheldon 4 variety, as cataloged in William H. Sheldon’s Penny Whimsey. The Liberty Cap, Reeded Edge cent is cataloged as Sheldon 79.

The record-setting Chain cent is the second finest known of the variety — the finest being an example graded Specimen 67 brown — and carries a provenance that traces back to W. Elliot Woodward’s Fifth Semi-Annual Sale in October 1864. The coin was sold at auction in 1996 by Bowers and Merena as part of the Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. Collection where it realized $132,000, and again in 2004 in an American Numismatic Rarities auction where it brought $391,000 — then a record for any cent sold at auction.

The 1829 Capped Head $5 half eagle also has a lengthy provenance, tracing back to the Joseph J. Mickley Collection in the mid-19th century. It was later part of the John Work Garrett Collection, where it was cataloged in its 1979 auction appearance as a Mint State piece, with the comment, “quite possibly this piece was struck as a Proof; it is definitely a special striking, perhaps a presentation piece.”

It was last sold at auction by Superior in 1996 as part of the Michael I. Keaston Collection, where it realized $190,000.  The Heritage catalog entry noted that the offered example is the only certified Proof of the entire type, although a one-sided Proof example is included in the Harry Bass Collection.

Strong FUN auctions bode well for the rest of the year in that they set the tone for the market, and the 2012 results compare favorably to the last several years. In 2011, the top 10 lots brought $5,899,500, led by a 1907 Indian Head gold $10 eagle graded Satin Proof 67 — formerly in the collection of Mint Director Frank A. Leach — that sold for $2.185 million. In 2012 the top 10 lots brought $6.9 million.

While it will be tough to beat 2010, where the top 10 lots at the FUN Platinum Night auction realized $8,487,000, including a 1913 Liberty 5-cent coin that realized $3,737,500, the market for mid-level six-figure coins is expanding. For example, in 2012 at the FUN auctions, at least 85 separate coins crossed the auction block at $100,000 or more; a number far greater than in 2011, and more than double the number in 2010.

Possibly more important than the success of the handful of top rarities, the expanding “middle-market” for very expensive coins bodes well for the future of the rare coin market in that it shows added depth and demand.

Also broadening is the notion of what a million dollar coin can be. No longer is the status reserved for top rarities like 1804 Draped Bust dollars, 1913 Liberty 5-cent coins, 1927-D Saint-Gardens gold $20 double eagles or 1894-S Barber dimes. Today’s well-heeled collectors and investors are expanding their horizons and looking at early rarities in top condition levels as stores of wealth.

Perhaps the recent announcement that the unique 1787 Brasher doubloon with New York metalsmith Ephraim Brusher’s EB counterstamp punched on the eagle’s breast sold in a private transaction for $7.395 million added to bidder confidence that early U.S. coins are a store of value and worthy of bids far exceeding their last trips to the auction block.


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Steve Roach is a Dallas, Texas, based rare coin appraiser and gentleman fine art dealer and appraiser.  He is an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers and sits on its board of directors.  Steve is also the associate editor of Coin World.  Visit Steve online at www.steveroachonline.com

Looking at Rare Coins as an Investment Class in 2011: Coin on the Wall Street Journal’s Investment Scoreboard

By Steve Roach - www.steveroachonline.com

First published in the January 23, 2012, Issue of Coin World


Each year Coin World provides the Wall Street Journal with a “Classic U.S. Rarities Key-Date Investment Index” for use in its annual investment scoreboard.  The scoreboard tracks different investment groups including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, bank instruments such as certificates of deposit, money market funds, precious metals, residential real estate and top investment grade rare coins.  The 2011 scoreboard was published in the Dec. 30 year-end review of markets and finance.

Index illustrates change in value of Coin World’s Classic U.S. Rarities Key Date Investment Index since 2005. In 2011, Coin World’s rare coin index gained 4.98 percent overall, compared with a 10.3 percent gain in 2010, and gains of 15.8 percent, 31.9 percent and 8.8 percent in 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Coin World’s rare coin investment index features 82 rare, high-grade coins: 15 copper coins, five copper-nickel pieces, 39 silver coins and 23 gold coins. In 2011 the 82 coins in the basket had a total value of $13,693,625; their value represented a substantial leap over the portfolio’s initial 2005 value of $7,722,435.

The index shows what coin collectors over generations have learned: that rare coins in well-preserved condition appreciate in value over time and can serve as a store of wealth. However, the price performance of rare coins, as for all investments, moves in cycles.

In 2011, Coin World’s rare coin index gained 4.98 percent overall, compared with a 10.3 percent gain in 2010, a 7.9 percent loss in 2009, and gains of 15.8 percent, 31.9 percent and 8.8 percent in 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively.

In 2008, rare coins were among the few investments that registered a gain on the scoreboard, while in 2009 rare coins as measured by the index were among the scoreboard’s worst-performing investments as the housing and investment markets rebounded.

For rare coins in 2011, the copper segment posted a 1.96 percent gain and silver coins showed a .05 percent gain, while rare gold coins increased 8 percent.  Overall, the rare coin portfolio’s 4.98 percent gain placed it in the middle of the scoreboard, nearly matching stock performance, outperforming mutual funds, bank instruments, platinum, silver, and residential real estate, but outperformed by bonds and gold.

As talk of rare coin investment funds and record-setting six- and seven-figure sales, both at auction and privately, bring attention to the rare coin market, the high end should continue to appreciate, and the key factors seem to be in place for 2012 to build on the successes of 2011.


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Steve Roach is a Dallas, Texas, based rare coin appraiser and gentleman fine art dealer and appraiser.  He is an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers and sits on its board of directors.  Steve is also the associate editor of Coin World.  Visit Steve online at www.steveroachonline.com

A global rare coin market test as $180 million to be offered in FUN/NYINC rare coin auctions

By Steve Roach - www.steveroachonline.com
First published in the January 16, 2012, Issue of Coin World


More than $180 million in rare coins may change hands at auctions during the first week of January, as both the Florida United Numismatists show in Orlando, Fla., and the New York International Numismatic Convention, in New York City, will be taking place. The FUN convention’s focus is primarily on U.S. coins while NYINC focuses on coins of the world, ancient to modern.

(Above: A rare silver decadrachm of Akragas, one of 12 known examples, has an estimate of $2.5 million, which if met or exceeded would establish a record price for a coin of ancient Greece.)

Major auctions accompany these conventions. Heritage Auctions anticipates that its FUN auctions may realize more than $80 million, and NYINC chairman Kevin Foley has said that there is a realistic chance that the nine auction houses conducting 16 auction sessions at NYINC may realize more than $100 million.

For comparison, a $180 million total for the FUN/NYINC auctions is roughly equivalent to Christie’s and Sotheby’s auctions for Old Masters Week in New York at the end of January. However, the per-lot price during Old Masters Week is significantly higher, as is the top level of the market for Old Masters where a great painting can achieve $20 million to $30 million.

Yet, the coin market is catching up to other classes of rarities and the market for high-end ancient coins is perhaps at its highest level ever, with global demand lifting prices across the board.

For example, Classical Numismatic Group in association with Nomos AG will offer the Cabinet W collection, 19 lots of masterpieces of Greek coinage that have opening bids together totaling more than $6.7 million.

Included in the collection is a rare silver decadrachm of Akragas, circa 409 to 406 B.C., one of just 12 known examples. It carries an estimate of $2.5 million. If met, it would establish a record price for an ancient Greek coin. It is the third example offered at auction in 31 years, with the last comparable example being sold as part of the famed Nelson Bunker Hunt Collection. That example sold in 1990 for $572,000, a then-record price for an ancient Greek coin.

The sale of 19 singularly rare and beautiful coins together creates an exclusive auction, comprising only the highest quality coins, which has the potential to attract people new to the hobby who want to put money into investments that are the best of their type.

Other six-figure rarities are present from around the globe — China, Russia, South Africa, ancient Rome, and elsewhere — as the coin market expands globally.


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Steve Roach is a Dallas, Texas, based rare coin appraiser and gentleman fine art dealer and appraiser.  He is an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers and sits on its board of directors.  Steve is also the associate editor of Coin World.  Visit Steve online at www.steveroachonline.com

It takes more than one big transaction to make a market

By Steve Roach - www.steveroachonline.com
First published in the January 9, 2011, Issue of Coin World

The recent announcement that Blanchard and Co. sold the unique 1787 Brasher doubloon with New York metalsmith Ephraim Brasher’s EB counterstamp punched on the eagle’s breast in a private transaction for $7.395 million brings positive attention to the coin hobby, but it is dangerous to read too much into a single transaction.

The nearly $7.4 million paid for the unique 1787 Brasher, Punch on Breast doubloon brought positive attention to the rare coin market, but it takes more than a single transaction to move a market.
Surely the market for aesthetically pleasing, historically significant top rarities is strong across most collectible and fine art fields.

But, at least one article has referenced the coin’s last public sale — when it realized $2.99 million at a Jan. 12, 2005, Heritage auction — to imply that all coins have soared in value in the past seven years. While many coins have, thanks to rising bullion markets, many have not, and the performance of a single super-rarity is not necessarily indicative of the coin market as a whole.

Claims that the Brasher, Punch on Breast doubloon is the “world’s most valuable gold coin” are rather speculative, especially considering that the 1933 Saint-Gaudens $20 double eagle allegedly once owned by Egypt’s King Farouk sold at public auction in 2002 for $7,590,020. That coin remains the only example of that issue currently legal to own and the price stands as the highest price of a rare coin at auction. (The record for a private treaty sale is $7.85 million paid for a 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar in May of 2010.)

The fact that the Langbord trial brought 10 more 1933 double eagles to light arguably doesn’t impact the market level of the one example of the 1933 double eagle that is legal to own, as long as the government continues to hold the coins and maintain that they will not be sold. If anything, one could argue that the trial and resulting media coverage made the 1933 double eagle even more famous.

Yet, marketing the Brasher doubloon as the world’s most valuable gold coin succeeded in attracting mainstream media attention to the sale, with more than 1,000 articles showing up on Google promoting the sale and, in turn, Blanchard.

No one can challenge that seven-figure sales of trophy coins are exciting and help energize the market for rarities. But it takes more than a single transaction to move a market, and one hopes that this single sale doesn’t inspire investors to jump into the market without first educating themselves on the risks and rewards of rare coin investing.

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Steve Roach is a Dallas, Texas, based rare coin appraiser and gentleman fine art dealer and appraiser.  He is an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers and sits on its board of directors.  Steve is also the associate editor of Coin World.  Visit Steve online at www.steveroachonline.com

Each issue in the Saint-Gaudens $20 series has a unique story – FUN auction sets tone for year

Since this site continues to get hundreds of visitors each week from around the world, I will return to dual posting here and on www.steveroachonline.com every Monday.  Thanks!

By Steve Roach - www.steveroachonline.com

First published in the January 2, 2011, Special Edition of Coin World

The auctions associated with the Florida United Numismatists convention, set for Orlando Jan. 5 to 8, are major market events that help set the tone for the coin market. The 2011 FUN auctions realized $46 million while the 2010 sales saw $37 million.

The 2012 Heritage auction is anchored by several significant consignments including Dr. and Mrs. Steven L. Duckor’s collection of exceptional Saint-Gaudens gold $20 double eagles. A collection like this provides a solid introduction to the nuances of the Saint-Gaudens series that make it so popular with novice and advanced collectors alike. Reading the lot descriptions can help contextualize the prices realized.

Regarding a 1913 Saint-Gaudens $20 double eagle graded Mint State 65 — a rare exception in this generally poorly produced issue — the cataloger wrote, “If a grading service could travel back in time to 1913 and set up a grading room in the Mint, there would likely still be only a small number of MS65 or finer coins certified.” The comment reveals a truism: that all coins are not created equal, and each issue in the Saint-Gaudens series has a story.

Some issues were well-produced at the time of issue, such as the 1908 Saint-Gaudens, No Motto double eagle. More than 19,000 examples were discovered in the 1990s with the Wells Fargo Hoard, which transformed the population of this issue with nearly 1,000 coins graded MS-67, 101 graded MS-68 and 10 graded MS-69. Clearly, this was an issue that was well-produced.

Hoards have transformed today’s concepts of rarity within the series. Yet, some issues in the series have been rarely encountered in hoards, such as the 1920-S double eagle, so while they were not considered especially rare in the 1940s and 1950s, today they are relatively rarer as other examples have become more common. In contrast, the 1924-S double eagle was once considered the key to the series — even rarer than the 1927-D coin — until the 1950s when hundreds of examples emerged from European bank vaults. Today, while still extremely rare in high grades, the 1924-S double eagle is no longer a legendary rarity.

Then there are issues with low mintages but extremely high survival rates.

Although just 12,367 1907 Saint-Gaudens, High Relief double eagles were struck, most were saved. Some of today’s most available Saint-Gaudens double eagles — like the 1924 — were mainly produced for international consumption, after domestic demand for new gold coins evaporated. Today’s population of these issues comes largely from European bank holdings. In contrast, although 1.7 million 1929 double eagles were struck, almost the entire mintage was melted, and today just 300 to 400 exist.

A highlight of the FUN auctions that might break the million-dollar mark is an MS-66 1921 double eagle. The other known MS-66 example sold at the 2005 Heritage auction of the Philip H. Morse Collection for $1,092,500.

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Steve Roach is a Dallas, Texas, based rare coin appraiser and fine art appraiser and gentleman dealer.  He is an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers and sits on its board of directors.  Steve is also the associate editor of Coin World.  Visit Steve online at www.steveroachonline.com