A Professional Coin Grading Service Proof 70 Deep Cameo 2014-W National Baseball Hall of Fame gold $5 half eagle was confirmed sold on eBay March 31 for $3,995, more than nine times the U.S. Mint’s retail price.

The coin sold on eBay on the same day the U.S. Mint confirmed the authorized maximum combined Proof and Uncirculated mintage of 50,000 gold Baseball coins had sold out.

The coin was sold by Numismatic Financial Corp. of Winter Spring, Fla.

Issue price was $424.75

The PCGS Proof 70 Deep Cameo 2014-W Baseball half eagle was one of 200 Proof gold Baseball coins the U.S. Mint offered March 27 for $424.75 each at the Whitman Baltimore Coin & Collectibles Expo.

March 27 was the first day for U.S. Mint sales of the 2014 National Baseball Hall of Fame gold half eagles, silver dollars, and copper-nickel clad half dollars.

The coins bear a common concave obverse depicting a baseball glove and a common convex reverse of a baseball. 

The Proof gold coin sold was certified with a special grading insert label under PCGS’s First Strike program, with the pedigree to the Baltimore Expo designated as FIRST PITCH BALTIMORE, in addition to FIRST STRIKE.

The Whitman Baltimore Expo and the U.S. Mint Sales Center on the first floor of U.S. Mint headquarters in Washington, D.C., were the only two sales locations where collectors could receive coins immediately upon purchase.

Initial eBay price was higher

Numismatic Financial Corp.’s Matt Kleinsteuber said April 1 that soon after the Proof 70 Deep Cameo gold coin had been certified at the Baltimore show, the coin was listed for sale on eBay for $4,995.

The listing generated several offers between $2,000 and $3,000, Kleinsteuber said. Shortly after Numismatic Financial Corp. dropped the price on eBay to $3,995, a buyer used the Buy It Now purchase option to acquire the coin.

Kleinsteuber said April 1 that the buyer immediately paid for the coin via the PayPal online payment service and after confirmation of the transaction, the coin was immediately shipped to the customer.

Numismatic Financial Corp. sells coins on eBay using the seller user name “tnfc.” 

The three-coin National Baseball Hall of Fame coin program has generated a lot of interest with collectors and baseball fans.

Certified prices highest

Secondary market prices are appearing to be the strongest for coins certified by PCGS and Numismatic Guaranty Corp., especially the ones the two grading firms certified as purchased from the U.S. Mint March 27 at the Baltimore show.

A number of eBay sales offered the Proof gold coins in their original Mint packaging. It could not be determined whether any of the coins came from sales March 27 at the Whitman Baltimore Expo or from the Mint’s sales center in Washington.

One Proof gold coin was sold March 31 for $735, with 35 bids from 16 bidders.

A separate Proof gold coin sold for $695.02 on April 1, receiving 14 total bids from nine bidders. Another Proof gold coin sold the same day for $575.89, with 16 bids from 11 bidders.

Another eBay auction closed April 1 for a Proof gold coin that brought $685, with 33 bids placed by 14 bidders.

The Uncirculated gold coins were offered by the Mint for $419.75. They, too, are bringing premiums on the secondary market.

One example sold on eBay March 31 for $610, with 20 bids from 12 bidders.

Three pairs of the Proof and Uncirculated gold coins were reported as being sold in a 24-hour period under a pre-sale option for $1,445, including pair sold in an April 3 transaction on eBay. Under a pre-sale option, the seller promises to deliver the coins to the buyers as soon as they are delivered to the seller by the U.S. Mint.

Mint pricing for coins

The Proof Baseball Hall of Fame silver coins are offered by the Mint at $51.95; the Uncirculated version is being sold for $47.95. (See the related article on page 1 for details on daily Mint sales of the coins.)

An NGC Proof 70 Ultra Cameo 2014-P silver dollar, pedigreed to the Whitman Baltimore Expo with the grading insert label marked OPENING DAY RELEASES from March 27, sold for $493.99, with nine bids from four bidders.

The Mint is still offering Proof 2014-S copper-nickel clad half dollars at $19.95 each; the Uncirculated 2014-D coins are being sold for $18.95 each by the Mint.

A number of the Proof and Uncirculated half dollars were being offered, uncertified, on eBay for approximately $40 to $50 each.

A PCGS Mint State 70 2014-D Uncirculated half dollar pedigreed as FIRST PITCH BALTIMORE was being offered on eBay as of April 3 with a Buy it Now purchase price of $1,399.99.