NumisMedia Market Report: True Rarities at Center of Attention in Chicago
Posted on 9/18/2011
At the recent Chicago ANA, dealers and collectors were extremely pleased to see a remarkable amount of true rarities in dealer inventories, and in the two auctions; Heritage Auctions held the week prior to ANA, and the Stack’s Bowers Official ANA Sale. These two sales realized over $70 million. The following charts contain some of the highlights of these two major sales. For complete prices realized please contact Heritage Auctions or Stack’s Bowers Galleries.
Heritage Auctions
| Denomination | Grade | Price Realized |
|---|---|---|
| 1802 Half Dime | NGC AU50 | $212,750 |
| 1855 S Arrows Quarter | NGC PR64 | $276,000 |
| 1855 S Arrows Half | NGC PR65 | $276,000 |
| 1892 S Morgan Dollar | NGC MS67 | $184,000 |
| 1893 S Morgan Dollar | NGC MS67 | $546,250 |
| 1855 D $1 Gold | NGC MS64+ | $143,750 |
| 1796 $2 ½ Gold No Stars | PCGS MS61 | $276,000 |
| 1855 S $3 Gold | NGC PR 64 Cameo | $1,322,500 |
| 1879 $4 Gold FH | PCGS PR65+ Cameo | $253,000 |
| 1796 $10 Gold | NGC MS62 | $149,500 |
| 1863 $10 Gold | PCGS PR65 DCameo | $299,000 |
| 1920 S $20 Saint | PCGS MS64 | $115,000 |
Stack's Bowers Galleries
| Denomination | Grade | Price Realized |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 No S Roosevelt Dime | PCGS PR68 | $349,600 |
| 1804 Bust Quarter | PCGS MS63 | $184,000 |
| 1847/6 Seated Half | NGC MS62 | $43,125 |
| 1855 S Arrows Half | NGC MS67 | $115,000 |
| 1870 CC Seated Half | NGC MS62 | $172,500 |
| 1874 CC Arrows Half | NGC MS64 | $57,500 |
| 1878 S Seated Half | PCGS MS63 | $184,000 |
| 1795 Draped Bust Dollar | PCGS MS63 | $149,500 |
| 1859 Seated Dollar | PCGS PR67 Cameo | $63,250 |
| 1879 O Morgan Dollar | NGC PR66* UCameo | $158,125 |
| 1796 $2 ½ Gold Stars | NGC MS63* | $287,500 |
| 1879 $4 Gold FH | PCGS PR65 | $184,288 |
| 1795 $10 Gold 9 Leaves | NGC AU58 | $218,500 |
| 1909 $20 Saint | NGC PR67 | $132,250 |
There is a very strong following for Carson City Twenty Liberties and, when offered for sale in major auctions, there are always multiple bidders, no matter the grade. Of course, when the grades are near the finest certified, the competition becomes very determined. This past month the highest graded 1879 CC $20 Liberty sold in a private transaction. In order to avoid competition this advanced collector negotiated to pay the highest recorded price for this MS62 certified by NGC. The last recorded sale of this coin was at FUN in 2005 for $43,700. Also at FUN that year the only other MS62, this one certified by PCGS, sold for $52,900. The Fair Market Value for this coin is now recorded at $84,500.
This past month has shown that the coin industry is a vibrant market. There is so much confidence that even when prices go down there are still hundreds if not thousands of buyers for just about every series. This is much different than thirty years ago; when a market went south, buyers quit buying altogether. In some series, there were absolutely no buyers and if you needed money you were just out of luck. Today, if the price is too cheap someone will buy it for a collection or hold on to it until that particular series makes a comeback.
This article is a guest article written by:
The thoughts and opinions in the piece are those of their author and are not necessarily the thoughts of the Certified Collectibles Group.
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