Dr. George Schwenk started collecting when he ventured into stock trading and investment, diversifying his portfolio by also investing in physical gold coins.

Certainly, one of the most exciting coins in Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ Aug. 16 standalone catalog of the collection was an 1880 Indian Head gold dollar graded Mint State 68+ by Professional Coin Grading Service with a green Certified Acceptance Corp. sticker that realized $19,200.

In gold, the dollar denomination was last struck for circulation in 1889, but the final decade saw diminishing mintages and in 1880, a paltry 1,600 circulation strikes were produced, making it second-lowest mintage of the series after the 400 struck in 1875.

Nearly all survivors are in Mint State grades, but this one was especially fantastic, with Stack’s Bowers calling it, “one of the finest, most visually appealing gold dollars of any date,” observing, “the surfaces are beautifully toned in a blend of vivid rose-gold, orange-apricot and powder blue iridescence.”

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