2016-09-30 Fri

A collection of rare U.S. gold coins named the Twelve Oaks Collection assembled by a Midwest collector was sold at the Heritage’s Long Beach, California auction that was held on 7th September for $8.5 million!

The highlight coin in the collection was a 1795 Capped Bust gold $5 half eagle graded Mint State 62 which was auctioned for $141,000. More coins from the same collection would be offered at Heritage’s upcoming coin auctions in Dallas and New York City.

The 1848 Coronet, CAL. gold $2.50 quarter eagle, graded PCGS Very Fine 25 was sold at the Long Beach Auctions for $32,900.

Some experts believe that the 1,389 1848 Coronet gold $2.50 quarter eagles with the letters CAL. stamped on them are the first U.S. commemorative coins. The stamped letters identify coins minted from the first gold sent to the Philadelphia Mint from California.

Since the punch is fairly simple many fakes are found in this variety. The positioning of the punch varies slightly in each coin. The obverse is not flattened where the coin was punched on the reverse and experts state that they were stamped while the coins were still in the press.