Breaking the bank at the Early American Coppers convention

[BillJones]

It's been a long time since I've been to convention with nice selection of coins and only came home with three items, but two of them were budget busters. The first piece was the one I intended to buy when I went to EAC. It is a 1795 eagle that I knew a certain dealer had for sale. The second, well it was HUGE surprise in more ways than one.

 

 

This 1795 eagle was probably among the first batch of eagles the U.S. mint struck in September 1795. The die variety is BD-1, which is by far the most common combination for the Capped Bust, Small Eagle type. Having said that, the term "common" is a relative term. The estimated surviving population in all grades is 225 to 325 pieces. Those numbers include coins that have polished, holed, mounted for jewelry or otherwise made unfit for an NGC or PCGS slab.

 

The eagle was the flagship coin in the U.S. gold series, but it proved to less than the most popular denomination. The half eagle or $5 gold piece had a weight, size and gold content that was more in line with other European gold pieces, and that coin proved to be the most practical and popular of the three U.S. gold denominations.

 

This coin features the small eagle with a laurel wreath held aloft in its beak. This design, along with the small eagle silver designs, came under a lot of criticism. The eagles were compared to “sick turkeys” and “buzzards.” In 1796 the Heraldic eagle was introduced on the quarter eagle, and that design was quickly adapted for all gold and silver denominations.

 

This coin is in a PCGS AU-53 holder, and that grade is entirely appropriate. The coin is a full, no questions asked AU, but it does have a number of circulation marks. None of them amount to much, but given the number of them, it does not quite make it to AU-55. The piece has virtually full luster under these marks, and there is just a breath of wear on the high points.

 

This piece also has not had a bath that would turn it into the all too often seen “white gold.” The nice coppery toning is intact complete with a nice spot between “STATES” and “OF” that attest to the coin’s originality. No doubt some less informed collectors would like the have that dipped off, but it’s staying so long as I own the piece. As a matter of fact I’ve heard that some coin doctors are now in the business of restoring the coppery toning. Boy, am I getting tired of these guys!

 

[DaveG]

Nice pick up!

[MBA101]

I love those early gold coins. That is a fantastic example. Congrats!

[123cents]

Beautiful coin Bill. Congratulations on your find.

[Dwaine]

I like it, can't wait to see coin #3.

[Dcoin]

[ctrl-migration]

Beautiful coin. Ooooh how I dream of owning one of those. Some day I will...I'll have to sell the entire collection but some day...

 

What's it like to walk into a show expecting to spend over a couple hundred thousand dollars on three items? Do your hands shake?

[EZ_E]

I like it, can't wait to see coin #3.

 

 

[font:Comic Sans MS]Bill, you're my numismatic Super Hero!! [/font]

 

(thumbs u (thumbs u

[BillJones]

Beautiful coin. Ooooh how I dream of owning one of those. Some day I will...I'll have to sell the entire collection but some day...

 

What's it like to walk into a show expecting to spend over a couple hundred thousand dollars on three items? Do your hands shake?

 

My hands don't shake, but I did think more than twice or three times about doing it. There are some dealers who only seem to glance at coins like this and can buy them without batting an eye. I take my time.

 

I'm not at all concerned about the grade of these coins. They are beyond solid. The thing that concerns me is the U.S. economy, and the coin market, which really seems to be overblown these days. In the old days $10 grand could buy a lot of coin. Today it's like a down payment. In the old days coins like this in a relative sense were under priced IMO. Now they have really come into their own and are getting the kind of attention that they have always deserved.

 

The trouble and the big question is, will the bottom fall out of this market the way it did in 1980 and 1989? If the bottom does fall out, the printed prices for these coins will fall, but how many will be available on the market at those lower levels? In the past market crashes caused the supply to dry up, and the amount of really top notch material that was available was very low. It took years for things to get closer to normal.

 

So here were the right coins, no question in my mind about that. BUT did I pay a stupid inflated market price? Only time will answer that one.

 

[ctrl-migration]

So here were the right coins, no question in my mind about that. BUT did I pay a stupid inflated market price? Only time will answer that one.

Regardless, you got some extremely beautiful, historic and very desireable coins!

[rrantique]

My oh my, Bill, what a great looking threesome. I know it takes a lot of patience and a lot of looking to find these coins and the medal. Congratulations finding these beauties.

[TomB]

This is a spectacular purchase and truly is an item that the vast majority of us will never even hold in-hand, let alone be able to add to our collections. I can see the copper toning around parts of the rim and also it appears to be on the high points. It's beautiful and is amazing that it has stayed so relatively unscathed over the years.

[rbrown4]

Wow, tremendous, and congratulations, beautiful Bill.

 

Rey

[astrostu]

Very nice coin. That's a prize for most any collection.

[Oldtrader3]

Beautiful coin, I wish that I could afford one!

 

In this expanded, large collector market with all looking to buy the gold (registry) ring, I would not worry about a coin such as this one. There will always be people with disposable income enough to chase this coin. IMHO, 1980 will not happen again. There are too many collectors and too much substantial wealth in the market for that magnitude of a collapse to occur again.

 

Besides the market now is driven by the funnel of wealth through auction houses, not by a few dealers on both coasts. That does not mean the the market will not wax and wane but the momentum is there now to keep the market healthy in the long term. Plus, a few dealers dropping bids and being greedy will not affect this expanse of a market because of the auction houses power in the market. Thankfully, 1980 can not happen again!

[physics-fan3.14]

Wow, I like this one alot.

[michael]

a beautiful historical coin

[SkyMan]

Bill, that is a lovely looking and historical coin! As far as financial considerations go, the prices on coins like that may wax and wain, but over time they are definitely on a nice upward trajectory.

 

One question, I note that Irvin is mentioning seeing 3 coins, but I am only seeing the 1795. Are there other images that for some reason my browser isn't picking up? If so, what are the other two coins? Thanks.

[rrantique]

Bill, that is a lovely looking and historical coin! As far as financial considerations go, the prices on coins like that may wax and wain, but over time they are definitely on a nice upward trajectory.

 

One question, I note that Irvin is mentioning seeing 3 coins, but I am only seeing the 1795. Are there other images that for some reason my browser isn't picking up? If so, what are the other two coins? Thanks.

 

 

Sy, i mention a threesome commenting on the other rare gold $2 1/2 and the Winnfield Scott Medal in the other EAC threads by Bill. Sorry for the confusion. (thumbs u

[coinsarefun]

Early gold rocks and I love the reverse.

 

 

 

Stefanie

[PerryHall]

Early gold rocks and I love the reverse.

 

Aren't "early gold rocks" called gold nuggets?