US Coins

GreatCollections gold coin sale brings top prices

By Paul Gilkes

Published: Dec 30, 2016, 4 AM

Some of the gold coins in the Sierra Madre Collection realized prices higher than values for the highest known example of representative coins by date, Mint mark and denomination.

Original images courtesy of GreatCollections.

The PCGS About Uncirculated 53, CAC, 1860-S Coronet $20 gold double eagle realized $8,800. The PCGS Price Guide lists a published value of $3,600.

Images courtesy of GreatCollections.

The $1,540 realized for the PCGS AU-55, CAC, 1847 Coronet $5 gold half eagle is more than double the PCGS Price Guide value.

Images courtesy of GreatCollections.

It took $3,364.90 to buy the PCGS AU-50, CAC, 1847-O Coronet gold $10 eagle. The PCGS Price Guide value is $1,225.

Images courtesy of GreatCollections.

The $3,131.70 paid for the PCGS AU-50, CAC, 1851-O Coronet $10 gold eagle is more than double the PCGS Price Guide value.

Images courtesy of GreatCollections.

Bidders were willing to pay multiples of published estimates Dec. 18 to acquire certified U.S. gold coins from the Sierra Madre Collection offered by GreatCollections.

The Sierra Madre Collection, according to GreatCollections President Ian Russell, was assembled by its unnamed consignor primarily in the early 1990s during a bull numismatic market.

Russell said that despite the coins being purchased by the consignor at what was then the top of the market, the prices realized in the Dec. 18 GreatCollections sale rose above those levels.\

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“When you have quality coins, they bring more money,” Russell said.

Old Green Holders

Of the 55 coins offered, 48 were graded and encapsulated by Professional Coin Grading Service in “Old Green Holders” and seven are graded and encapsulated by Numismatic Guaranty Corp. Fifty of the 55 coins were subsequently stickered by Certified Acceptance Corp. for quality, which included the two NGC-certified coins.

Of the 50 coins receiving CAC stickers, eight of the coins, all PCGS-certified, received the gold label, with the remaining labels being green.

The CAC green sticker signifies a coin meets CAC’s stringent grading standards.

The coveted gold CAC label means the coin is of “exceptional quality” for the grade.

The 55 coins in the auction brought total prices realized of $107,847. The prices realized include a 10 percent buyer’s fee added to the closing hammer price of each lot won.

Russell said more than 1,400 bids were placed, combined, for the 55 coins.

Top coin in auction

Topping the list was an 1860-S Coronet gold $20 double eagle in an old green holder from PCGS, graded About Uncirculated 53 and with a CAC green sticker, that realized $8,800. The value listed in the PCGS Price Guide for the date, Mint mark and grade was $3,600. In total, 47 bids were placed. The issue has a published mintage at the San Francisco Mint of 544,950 coins.

An 1847 Coronet gold $5 half eagle, graded PCGS About Uncirculated 55, bearing a CAC gold sticker, realized $1,540 against a Coin World Coin Values listing of $800 and a PCGS Price Guide value of $735.

The issue has a published mintage from the Philadelphia Mint of 915,981 coins.

It was followed by an 1847-O Coronet gold $10 eagle graded PCGS About Uncirculated 50, also with a CAC gold sticker. The coin realized $3,364.90 compared to a Coin World Coin Values listing of $1,350 and a PCGS Price Guide value of $1,225.

A PCGS About Uncirculated 50 1851-O Coronet gold $10 eagle with CAC green sticker realized $3,131.70 on a Coin World Coin Values listing of $1,540 and a PCGS Price Guide price of $1,350.

See more results at the firm’s website, www.greatcollections.com/.