GoldFinger1969

I don't see articles in the papers of the day talking about the citizens of the UK, Switzerland, Germany, etc.....engaging in the hoarding of gold and gold coins to the extent that the French did. Clearly, a cultural thing. Europe overall much more into gold coins than here in the States. French farmers, middle class, and professional class (doctors, lawyers, small businessmen) leading the charge. Not sure why...could go back to Napoleon. No history of devestating wars that I am aware of or hyperinflations in the 1800's. WWI did have an impact on the accumulation tendencies of the 1920's and 1930's but not sure about the herd instinct before then.

People....I clarified above. The French Central Bank also had big increases in reserves but eventually they stopped releasing gold as they realized it wasn't being used, just hoarded.

Back to Roosters and the French .....doing some original article reading and the amount of gold hoarding by the French populace in the late-1920's/early-1930's was astounding. I've noted here the rise in gold reserves by the U.S. (big) and France (huge) as nations in the 1920's. Individually, the French seemed more in a hoarding mode than citizens of the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and other countries. Without their Roosters being available, they went to the other birds: the Eagles and Double Eagles.

Er....I'm not so sure about that.

Foreigners overseas loved them....tons shipped to Europe from 1930-32.....Treasury melted them because of the orders from the dunces at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Going off the gold standard did NOT mean having to confiscate and/or melt gold coins. Letters to the editor to The Times notably said that in 1933 and 1934.

Aunt Esther ? You old heathen !!!

Why shouldn't it ? Even if you dislike gold, can't you appreciate the artistry ?

The premiums to gold content for Saints in 1989 and the late-1990's were really high. Market grading for them is one reason why the CAC sticker rate is so low.

Still can't believe that costume got past the old ABC censors !! Saw her on an old episode of "2 1/2 Men" and she STILL looks good past 70 !!!

I see that Gov.mint is now offering coins from the Fairmont Collection; video here too: https://www.govmint.com/reserveplus?ad=987PM&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5IGG2azbhQMV2FtHAR1ZqwIEEAAYASAAEgLyWvD_BwE $5 and $10 gold pieces; the Eagle sells for just over $2,500 for a 1907P. Not sure if that is high relative to the market for 1/2 ounce of gold for the final issue of the Liberty Head design. I also saw a TV commercial for the Fairmont coins yesterday, but missed who sponsored it; could have been Gov.mint or another firm.

How about any of the Big National Shows -- FUN, Long Beach, ANA, etc. -- having vendor and public attendnace so we can do an apples-to-apples comparison ? Not looking for exact numbes, just ballpark.

That's interesting because unless the auctioner is a numismatist like in the days of old (i.e., David Akers) most of the time the auction houses (esp. non-numismatic ones) would rely on the experts, right ? The more important question is what is the variance...how far do the grades swing and WHERE ? If the grades swing between 64-66 and the real money is at 67, no harm...no foul. But swings at key inflection points -- shout out to the infamous CU Franklin Gradeflation thread !! -- are HIGHLY controversial and problematic and the real source of contention. Nobody gives a damn if a 1924 Saint gets an MS-62 or MS-63 grade. Even the CAC bean probably doesn't matter much.

What's not realistic about an eagle standing on its legs ?

Haven't read a page yet, just bought a good/new copy because they disappear as they're in limited supply. Look at what happened with Roger's book -- I can't buy a copy for my uncle. Probably summer reading....want to re-read the Whitman Red Books on DEs, FMTM, RWB's Saints book -- all a 2nd time.

Congrats...NOW you can count on spending your riches. Seriously, congratulations on a great find. It appers to be worth a few hundred dollars.

I love the Eagle-in-Flight pose better. It's very majestic. As I recall (I'm sure it's in Roger's RoAC books)...Teddy Roosevelt said that the eagle on the Liberty Head DE looked like a grilled squab.

A guy with 3 posts endorsing the validity of a "find" by a guy with 1 post ? I'd await the entry of Sandon & Friends before I started counting my riches....

It's a nickel.

Excellent points. I agree: we here on these Forums are certainly SERIOUS or ACTIVE collectors. Most people might fall into the LAPSED or INACTIVE categories.

Probably less of a concern now with CACG but there are lots of stories about this in the affirmative. I'll leave it to the vets here to discuss.

I'm not a gold bug either, HC....but if you look at all those charts I have posted in recent weeks, the supply-demand fundamentals look better at any time other than maybe 1971 or 2001. EVERYTHING is lined up perfectly, and that's not giving any credit to a geopolitical adventure by Iran, Russia, or China. I'm not prepared to give the super-bullish targers of $10,000 or other fanciful numbers I see thrown about....but I see $3,500 - $5,000 as right in the bullseye zone.

When did annealing cease being used in the U.S. and/or other countries -- any idea ? I presume it is NOT being used today. I guess the technological improvements make the surface gloss attractive without the nitric bath so that might be one reason it's not used today (plus it's costly and time-consuming).

Recent Saint Sales: A PCGS MS-67 Saint went for $9,600 including bp. Prices had been over $10K during Covid. The only other Saint in MS-67 that is cheaper is the 1908 NM. A PCGS 1910-D in MS-66 sold for $9,700 including bp. This was surprising....an MCMVII HR AU-55 Details ANACS coin sold for $8,000, all-in. And an AU-58 Details went for $9,600. A 1908 NM MS-65 CACG sold for just over $3,000. Interesting, as Artie Johnson used to say.... Finally... a bunch of National Park Foundation Commemoratives using various ASG themes and images had multiple issues in Gem Proof sell for about 5-7% over spot gold which IMO is pretty good for the buyers. And a 1995-W ASE PR70-DCAM sold for just over $12,300.

I wonder if there was any consideration to using the same $20 DE design for the Eagle, Half Eagle, etc. ?

Must-read article from Ambrose Evans-Pritchard from the UK Telegraph. Looks like the Chinese might be the inelastic buyer: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/04/16/gold-price-surge-china-warchest-geopolitical-dystopia/