NGC-certified Trio Brings $9,870,000 at FUN

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Three rare coins certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation® (NGC®) each broke $1 million at last week’s Heritage Auctions’ FUN Show sale. The elusive 1787 Brasher Doubloon, graded NGC MS 63, led the sale with a price realized of nearly $4.6 million. It is the finest certified example of the first gold coin struck in the United States.

The next highest price was achieved by a 1913 Liberty Nickel that was once the subject of an episode of Hawaii Five-O. Graded NGC MS 64, this famous rarity is the second-finest of just five pieces known and one of only three in public hands. It realized $3.3 million.

A 1927-D Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle graded NGC MS 66 set a new record for the date when it sold for $1,997,500. With only 12 or 13 examples known, the 1927 $20 gold piece is the rarest regular issue United States coin struck 1793 to date.

These three rarities were among the nearly $50 million in NGC-certified coins sold at auction during the first full week of January. In addition to the FUN Show sale, a number of auctions were conducted in conjunction with the NYINC in New York.

The NYINC results were led by a Brazil 1822R Pedro I Gold 6,400 Reis graded NGC AU 55 that realized $499,375 in the Heritage Auctions sale. Only 64 examples were struck for presentation to dignitaries at the coronation of Pedro I as the first emperor of the newly independent Brazil, and only 16 specimens are believed to still exist.

Another six NGC-certified world coins sold for more than $100,000 in the Heritage Auctions NYINC sale.

The top result at the Stack’s Bowers NYINC Auction, held January 10-13, was an NGC PF 64 Great Britain 1773 Pattern Five Guineas that sold for $375,000, or more than double the presale high estimate.

Two other NGC-certified British coins realized six-figure sums at the Stack’s Bowers sale. A 1768 Pattern Two Guineas graded NGC PF 63 sold for $170,000—more than triple the presale high estimate. Also notable is an NGC PF 61 Cameo 1820 Pattern Five Pounds that was acquired for $160,000.

“The year has started with a number of fantastic results for NGC-certified coins,” says Mark Salzberg, NGC Chairman. “The rare coin market appears to be quite strong and these auctions show the significant demand for both US and world rarities graded by NGC.”

The FUN and NYINC sales are followed by Heritage Auctions’ January 14-16 sale of more than 1,900 world coin selections from the Eric P. Newman Collection, all of which are graded by NGC. Visit HA.com to learn more and bid.