Page 5 - Winter Numismatics News Today

In numismatics, there are coins that are condition rarities and there are coins that are absolute rarities. As a long-time participant in the coin market, I tend to prefer coins that are absolute rarities.

Between 1795 and 1933 a total of 36 major US gold coin types issued for circulation. In my May 2017 article on collecting US gold by type...

By Doug Winter - RareGoldCoins.com ......   CoinWeek Content Partner   If you're a regular visitor to my site, you’ve likely noticed a

At the recent FUN show I was shown two collections of coins. Out of the 50 or so coins I looked at, around five were what I would describe as being “original.” This made me realize that most collectors do not understand the concept of originality and that it would be a good time to dust off the old “how to tell originality” blog.

There is no getting around the fact that doctored gold coins are a problem in the market. Doctoring is not new. I’ve heard stories of American collectors and dealers “messing” with coins as far back as a century ago.

By Doug Winter - RareGoldCoins.com ......   CoinWeek Content Partner   The first time I can recall interacting with Dale Friend was around 15

Half Eagles of the Reconstruction: Philadelphia $5 gold half eagles struck at the Philadelphia Mint from 1866 through 1877 include a number of low-mintage issues that, while undeniably rare, are curiously underappreciated. I regard some of the issues as among the best values in all of the rare date gold market. In this article, we will look at each of these issues; both business strikes and Proofs. We will look at the total number of coins known, the typical appearance of each date, discuss th...

Five Brief Takes: Carson City Half Eagles here). My plan is to do these on a fairly regular basis; perhaps two or three times per month. I am always looking for topics, so if you have any suggestions, send me an email at dwn@ont.com. * * * Carson City half eagles continue to be very popular with collectors. Unlike their 10 dollar and 20 dollar counterparts, this series is completable with no six-figure rarities, and there are enough affordable collector grade coins to satisfy the whole gamut of...

A New Batch of Fairmont Collection Half Eagles Sells at Auction Liberty Head half eagles sourced from the Fairmont Collection in their recent March 2021 Las Vegas auction. There were numerous nice collector-grade coins but no rarities, and virtually no coins that would sell for over $10,000. All the coins were graded by PCGS and a sizable percentage were approved by CAC. How did these coins do? Let’s break down some of the coins by mint and try to make sense of the prices. The Fairmont co...

1838-C is among the most sought-after Classic Head half eagles. It is both a one-year type and a first-year-of-issue. It is not an especially scarce date but it is extremely difficult to find Choice, as evidenced by its low populations at both PCGS and CAC. The current population of 1838-C half eagles graded AU55 or AU58 by PCGS stands at nine, while two have been graded in Uncirculated by this service. CAC has approved just three coins in AU55 to AU58, and a single piece in Uncirculated (an...