When are restrikes worth more than the original?

[Zoins]

I was recently reading the history of various US dollar types on Wikipedia and came across the article on the Gobrecht Dollar. The article says:

Restrikes of these coins were made into the 1870s to please collectors. These restrikes are also rare and sparsely minted coins. These restrikes tend to be worth more than the regular issue coins minted in 1836.

Is it true that the Gobrecht Dollar restrikes sell for more than the originals? Are there other coins where the restrikes are worth more?

[AegisIII]

I was recently reading the history of various US dollar types on Wikipedia and came across the article on the Gobrecht Dollar. The article says:

Restrikes of these coins were made into the 1870s to please collectors. These restrikes are also rare and sparsely minted coins. These restrikes tend to be worth more than the regular issue coins minted in 1836.

Is it true that the Gobrecht Dollar restrikes sell for more than the originals? Are there other coins where the restrikes are worth more?

 

Consider the 1831 and 1836 second restrike half cents, i.e. those with the reverse of 1840. There's also the 1804 eagle restrikes (proofs, struck for diplomatic reasons like the class I 1804 dollars).

[Zoins]

Thanks. Are these covered in any good books?

[Tradedollarnut]

No, the actual restrikes of original gobrecht dollars [ie: 1836, 38 and 39] are NOT worth more than the originals - they tend to be worth a bit less as they are collected by fewer people.

 

I think what they are alluding to are the fantasy coins created at the same time the originals were restruck. These coins tend to be R-8 and involve unusual combinations of stars/no stars or off metals or plain edges. They are not really restrikes because no originals in those combinations were created. Only die hard gobrecht fans collect them because they are so rare and expensive and quite frankly belong more in a pattern set than a regular issue set of coins.

 

My gobrecht collection consists of the 5 basic coins in the Redbook: the 1836 name under base pattern [or fantasy coin], the two original issues of 1836/7, the 1838 restrike and the 1839 original.

[Yarm]

Quite a bit of research was done on Gobrecht dollars by Michael Carboneau and James Grey a few years back. It contradicted some prior notions about original and restrike Gobrecht dollars and appears on the following site.

 

http://www.uspatterns.com/gobdolof18an.html

[TomB]

The information you have received on Gobrecht dollars is very good, and this is one area of numismatics that can be exceptionally tricky to navigate in regard to when coins were prepared and if they are piece de caprice, patterns or regular issues.

[WoodenJefferson]

Although they will never be worth more than the originals, the re-strikes of the 1861 Confederate half dollar certainly rank high on the list of re-strike collector rarities.

 

Only four original Confederate half dollars were struck in the New Orleans mint in 1861, using the regular Seated Liberty obverse die that was already on hand for federal coinage, and a new reverse die that was engraved by A.H.M. Patterson. Scott obtained the original Confederate States of America half dollar die in the 1870s, and proceeded to make 500 restrikes from the die in soft white metal, with an advertising inscription for Scott on the obverse and the impression of the Confederate die on the reverse. After these pieces were struck, he obtained 500 Seated half dollars dated 1861 (ostensibly from the New Orleans mint), planed off the reverse of each coin, and struck 500 examples with the regular Seated half dollar design on the obverse and the Confederate half design on the reverse. The obverse was slightly flattened on each resulting example (hence the restrikes are graded by the reverse only), but collectors could then obtain a specimen with the same obverse and reverse designs, and struck from the same reverse die, that was originally intended for a proposed Confederate coinage.

 

As the four original specimens struck in 1861 seldom appear on the market and are high priced rarities, most collectors will never own one, and only a lucky few ever have the chance to even see one. The restrikes represent a relatively affordable opportunity to own a prized example, struck from the original Confederate die, of what "might have been" had the Confederacy proceeded with its original coinage plans. The restrikes have earned their place as highly desirable numismatic items, and this attractive specimen, while it may not be the most expensive item in this sale, certainly ranks among the most interesting, and should inspire spirited bidding among Southerners and Northerners alike." at $4,715.00.