The 1912 Saint-Gaudens double eagle claims a smallish mintage of 149,750 coins. Its certified population totals in MS62 and MS63 are relatively pedestrian — about a couple thousand each — but the issue becomes more challenging in MS64, scarce in MS65, and rare in MS66 or better. What also stands out about the 1912 is its status as the only issue for the year. There are no branch mint coins to supplement the population of Philadelphia representatives.
The NGC population is only 4 with 2 graded higher.
Listed at $38,500 in the NGC price guide.
Offered at $28,250
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The 1880-CC was made plentiful in the 1970s with the dispersal of the GSA silver dollar holdings. More than 131,000 coins were distributed, or roughly 22% of the total mintage from a century prior. Of these, more than 114,000 coins qualified for what the GSA graders considered Uncirculated, meaning the coins were neither toned nor obtrusively scratched. About 16,000 toned and scratched coins were also distributed. Nonetheless, the availability of this issue declines significantly at the Superb Gem grade level. And it’s certainly fair to say that the example being offered here is conditionally scarce.
The PCGS population is 50 with just 3 graded higher, two of the latter being MS67+ examples.
$23,000 in the PCGS price guide.
Offered at $19,775
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A mintage of 515,000 silver dollars was achieved at the New Orleans Mint in 1860, most of which was earmarked for export. Some of the mintage was placed into circulation and any remaining dollars were delivered into storage. No one knows exactly how many coins were released from the Treasury during the 1962-1964 distribution, but David Bowers claims to never have seen an MS64 or MS65 example from the Treasury hoard. Most coins were low-grade Uncirculated examples — roughly handled during repeated shuffling and counting while stored, and heavily bagmarked as a result. Bruce Amspacher called the 1860-O date a “Quaker Oats dollar” because it looked like it was shot from guns. Relatively common in low Mint State grades, the 1860-O issue joins all other Seated Liberty dollars as rare in Gem condition and extremely rare any finer.
The NGC population is only 8 with 3 graded higher.
Listed at $37,200 in the CDN CPG and $30,000 in the NGC price guide.
Offered at $22,600
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The 1913-D twenty dollar is another well-produced issue from early in the series, one that generally shows excellent luster over sharply struck surfaces. Denver Mint coins of this era generally have those criteria in common; however, Denver and the other branch mints skipped striking double eagles in 1912, so that the 1911-D and 1910-D issues are the D-mint products immediately preceding the 1913-D. Only 393,500 examples of the 1913-D were reportedly struck, yet today examples below the Gem grade are fairly obtainable. Many of the earlier Saint-Gaudens issues such as the 1913-D avoided the mass meltings that many later dates saw by being exported to Europe or Latin America, only to be repatriated over the ensuing decades.
The one offered here exhibits attractive orange-gold color.
The NGC population is 12 with 1 (MS66+) example graded higher.
Listed at $50,400 in the CDN CPG and $42,500 in the NGC price guide.
Offered at $38,800
Private, Portable, Divisible Store of Wealth. We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you.
Proof 1902 silver dollars, as with all proof coins struck in that year, were produced with a no-contrast finish, as the Mint altered its die-making process for proof issues. As a result, proof 1902 dollars are extremely rare with any degree of cameo contrast. Collectors instead usually strive to acquire the finest possible non-Cameo for their collections. This particular example exhibits lovely original toning and a stunning overall appearance.
From a mintage of 425,400 pieces, the 1889-S Liberty eagle is not too difficult to locate in lower circulated grades but Choice examples are rare. Writing all the way back in 2006, Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth remarked:
“MS-64 examples are very rare and the finest certified example is a single PCGS MS-65 coin, which has yet to appear on the market.” The current PCGS population report shows one MS65+ example, (but no MS65’s) with none higher. For its part, the NGC population is 1 with none graded higher.
Listed at $54,000 in the CDN CPG and $69,000 in the NGC price guide.
A relatively modest business-strike mintage of 168,838 Saint-Gaudens double eagles was accomplished at the Philadelphia Mint in 1913. The coins were produced in nine deliveries, spaced throughout the year. Most of the coins were sent to European and Latin American destinations, and Roger W. Burdette estimates about 5,000 examples have been repatriated from overseas sources in recent times. Most examples seen are in lower Mint State grades, with the expected number of bagmarks from rough storage and transport. The 1913 Saint-Gaudens double eagle is a rare issue at the MS65 grade level, and finer coins are virtually unobtainable.
The NGC population is 22 with 2 graded higher.
Offered at $25,850 (Bank Wire, ACH, Delivered)
We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you.
The 1911-S Indian ten-dollar gold piece was once considered one of the rarest dates of the series in Mint State. The date boasts a low mintage of just 51,000 pieces, and the great majority of the coins were released into circulation at the time of issue. Before the discovery of a hoard of 50 pieces in Europe in the 1970s, Mint State specimens of this date were virtually unheard-of. The date began appearing in auction catalogs in the 1940s, but even great collectors like F.C.C. Boyd and King Farouk were content with specimens that graded only VF during that era. Louis Eliasberg, the “King of Coins,” settled for an XF40 example in his extraordinary collection. The situation changed radically in 1979 when Marc Emory, acting for New England Rare Coin Galleries, brokered a deal for a group of Gem Uncirculated 1911-S eagles through his contacts in Spain. The story of this remarkable find was told for the first time in the Ivy Press publication The Coinage of Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The hoard was originally the property of the American governor of the Philippines in 1911, who gave a group of 50 ten-dollar gold coins from the San Francisco Mint to a Spanish citizen who was residing in the Philippines at the time. The coins were preserved by that gentleman, who later returned to Spain, and the hoard became part of his estate when he died. The coins were retained by his family for many years until his grandson decided to sell them through a prominent coin collector from Barcelona. Marc Emory met with the collector and finalized a deal through a Swiss bank for 30 of the coins. The remainder of the hoard eventually became available, and NERCA became the conduit for their entry into the U.S. coin market. Nearly all Gem level 1911-S eagles in collector’s hands today are from this fantastic hoard.
In hand, this Gem is lighter in hue and more lustrous than seen in our images. The NGC population is only 10 with 2 graded higher.
Offered at $25,850 (Bank Wire, ACH, Delivered)
We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you.
Prior to 1881, gold proofs are almost entirely sold only in complete denomination sets. Gold proof sets sales continued in 1881, with 40 distributed by the end of the first quarter, but individual proof quarter eagles were struck and sold throughout the year as well, bringing the mintage for this issue to 51 pieces. These coins are among the most contrasted proofs in the Liberty quarter eagle series, and the palindrome date makes them popular type coins. Type collector demand is further heightened by the fact that many later proof quarter eagles (such as those struck from 1902 through 1907), lack the same degree of cameo contrast seen on late 19th century proofs. In United States Proof Coins, Volume IV: Gold, John Dannreuther estimates that only 18 to 22 proof 1881 quarter eagles survive. This is far less coins than the PCGS estimate of 30 to 35 pieces, but it might be more accurate. A significant number of the non-Cameo proofs reported by the grading services have likely been reconsidered in more recent years and redesignated Cameo or Deep Cameo. This is the only PR67 Ultra Cameo graded by NGC with none higher.
Listed at $80,000 in the NGC price guide.
Offered at $74,750
We do business the old fashioned way, we speak with you.
The Saint-Gaudens Indian Head eagle series, which ran from 1907 through 1933 (the final production was nearly completely destroyed), is a deceptively challenging set to put together, particularly in high grades. Only a handful of issues are collectible in Gem condition or better, several have either low mintages – low survival rates or both – and just two of them (the 1926 and 1932) could be considered plentiful. The 1911-D is a series semi-key struck to the limited extent of just 30,100 coins. That meager total represents the lowest production among all regular-issue Indian Head ten-dollar gold pieces and explains why examples are so highly sought-after.
