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Coin Collecting Strategies: 7 Ways to Improve Your Coin Collection   Someone recently asked me a question that I thought was interesting and that merited a detailed response. To paraphrase this question, they basically asked me this: can you tell me some ways that I can improve my coin collection while spending little or no money? Are there any actual ways that you can make your coin collection better without dropping a lot of coin (bad pun intended)? I believe that there are and here are a fe...

The Curious Case of the 1855-C Gold Dollar   I can’t think of a single branch mint gold coin that has performed as poorly from a price perspective as the 1855-C gold dollar. Back around 2005 through 2008, these routinely traded in AU55 for $10,000-12,000 USD. Today, certain pieces in AU55 holders now bring only $5,000-5,500. 1855-C $1.00 PCGS AU55 CAC. Images courtesy Douglas Winter Numismatics (DWN) unless otherwise noted Why did this important one-year type coin drop so much in value? Th...

In 1820, a quarter dollar was the typical cost for attending theatrical events and similar entertainments in New York City, events that today might cost tens or even hundreds of dollars. Alongside the half dollar, the quarter was a workhorse of everyday commerce and most examples that left the United States Mint wound up heavily worn within a few years. Stack’s Bowers Galleries is delighted to offer one of the most spectacular 1820 Capped Bust quarters in our March 2021 Las Vegas Auction. ...

Simpson III: A Quick US Gold Coin Auction Analysis Part Three of the Bob Simpson Collection. As with the first two sales, the majority of the coins were non-gold but what few gold coins that were available tended to be spectacular. By analyzing the prices realized, we can get a better grasp of what is going on with the high-end segment of the US gold coin market. 1850, 1853-D, and 1856 Slanting 5 Gold Dollars Bob Simpson had a terrific collection of gold dollars and, little by little, these ha...

How Cellphone Photos Took Over the Coin Market in 2020   Beginning about three or four years ago, I noticed an ever-increasing amount of my business involved cellphone pictures of coins. This was especially true from the aspect of buying. And as the coin market had to re-invent itself in 2020 due to COVID-19, a significant amount of business became cellphone-driven. If I had to guess, I would say that close to 50%–if not more–of all dealer-to-dealer business is now done based on cellphone ...

The Big Mo Collection of Civil War Gold Coinage: Part Two Nevada specialized collector over the last decade or so, the Big Mo set of Civil War coinage was likely the single finest set of these issues ever assembled. The non-gold (and certain gold coins) was sold a few months ago and the remaining coins, all gold, were recently auctioned by Legend in their 12/3 Las Vegas sale. In this detailed analysis, we will look at this exceptional group of gold coins and determine the strengths (or weakn...