Coins We Love: Brevity, Coins & Elves
The holiday season is upon us and the elves have decorated our office this week. While we spend more time here than we do with our families during the weekdays, we try to make it an enjoyable place to work. Of course, there’s a delicate balance that you must have as a business to make sure that everything runs properly and that customers are treated well. That being said, we’ll be closed on December 24th and 25th for Christmas Eve and Day, as well as January 1st. We hope that you are able to enjoy spending time with friends and family at this time, but if you need to reach us, we’re always available via email at coins@davidlawrence.com on weekends, holidays, and regular workdays!
We’ll keep this week’s message brief as we have an active week ahead of us, but as always, if you have anything we can assist you with, please don’t hesitate to let us know. We hope that you enjoy the highlights below and have a wonderful week!
Sincerely,
John Brush and Your Friends at DLRC
Why we love it: The 1921 is a popular key date that comes from the second lowest mintage in the entire Walking Liberty Half Dollar Series with just 246,000 coins originally struck. This near-gem example is well-struck and simply pristine for the grade with few notable marks. On top of that, the coin is beautifully lightly toned and lustrous, creating premium eye appeal.
Value: The PCGS Price Guide and CPG value are set respectively at $12,500 and $11,200. Our starting bid in this week’s auction beats out both price guides and leaves potential bidders with plenty of room. It is set one thousand under CPG and two thousand under PCGS at just $10,250.
Why we love it: A better date Denver minted Buffalo Nickel from the D.L. Hansen Collection. Only five other pieces are graded finer by PCGS making this example truly registry quality. The eye appeal of this gem is wonderful with its blast white satiny surfaces covered in frosty luster.
Value: The PCGS Price Guide has this coin valued at $7,500 in MS66 and at $27,500 in MS66+. PCGS factors in nothing for the premium of CAC approval. Our gorgeous gem example of this slightly scarcer date Buffalo Nickel has a price via Make Offer of just $7,750.
Why we love it: A choice XF example of this early dollar that is popularly desired by enthusiasts of Bust coinage and especially type collectors. It has a deeply toned obverse with a lighter reverse and surprising amounts of luster remaining on both sides. The luster, CAC sticker, and fantastic detail make the coin have the quality and eye appeal of a low-end AU.
Value: In September this exact coin sold in auction for $5,523 with a PCGS Price Guide value of $5,500. Our starting bid in this week’s auction is set at the low amount of just $5,250 leaving room for bidders to acquire the coin for less than both previous figures.
Why we love it: A scarce and desirable Carson City Mint Double Eagle issue from a mintage of just 26,900 coins struck in which few survive in higher circulated grades. This choice XF example displays light, even color and wear that are true to the grade.
Value: The PCGS Price Guide and CPG value on this coin are extremely comparable at a respective $12,500 and $12,700. This closeness in estimates should bring potential buyers great assurance on the accuracy of those numbers. Our best price is set at only $10,500 via Make Offer.
Why we love it: Final year of issue cameo proof from the Liberty Seated Dollar series from a mintage of just 600. Gorgeous mirrored surfaces with lovely light toning and frosted devices. Its toning features beautiful golden centers with pleasant blue and rose rim highlights.
Value: The PCGS Price Guide has this coin valued at $4,500. Our example of this final year cameo proof Seated Dollar is available in this week’s auction at a starting bid of $3,750. That is a solid discount of $750 off the price guide.
Why we love it: Scarce and popular New Orleans Mint issue Liberty Gold Eagle from the D.L. Hansen Collection. From a lower original mintage of just 108,950 coins in which only 10 other examples are graded finer by PCGS. Our piece is wonderfully original with caramel-gold patina, soft mint luster, and a sharp strike.
Value: The PCGS Price Guide and CPG value on this coin are exactly in line with each other at $7,500. This should bring potential bidders great assurance on the accuracy of those numbers. The starting bid in this week’s auction is set fairly at that same $7,500 even with its CAC approval.
Why we love it: A scarce proof Morgan Dollar from a small mintage of just 777 coins. This near gem displays pristine mirrors with deep toning and lovely eye appeal. Stunning color with beautiful surfaces featuring gorgeous blue, lavender, and rose rim tints rolling into golden centers.
Value: The PCGS Price Guide has this coin valued at $4,000. Our beautifully toned near-gem example of this proof Morgan Dollar is available for purchase via Make Offer at the low price of just $3,650. That is a fair discount of $350 off the price guide.
Why we love it: The 1868 is a popular and scarce Type 2 Double Eagle from a lower mintage of just 98,575 coins struck. This choice AU example displays light wear on its highpoints with overall sharp, clear detail throughout its devices. A small amount of luster remains giving this coin nice overall quality and eye appeal.
Value: The PCGS Price Guide and CPG value are set respectively at $8,500 and $7,500. Our starting bid in this week’s auction beats out both price guides and leaves potential bidders with a good amount of room. It is set nearly one thousand under CPG and nearly two thousand under PCGS at just $6,750.
Why we love it: “Give unto Caesar, what is Caesar’s…” One of the most popular coinage issues amongst those that are not even active collectors are the silver denarii from Ancient Rome. These coins circulated throughout the known world and were representative of a full day’s wages at the time. Even a non-scholar of Biblical history typically has an appreciation of these due to the art, message, and cultural popularity in today’s world. This Ancient Roman coin depicts Augustus Denarius and is estimated to have been struck between 27 BC and 14 AD. It is one of the popular Twelve Caesars, rulers of Rome. This beauty is graded Mint State as its surface quality is high, and strike is strong. It would be an incredible addition for any collector seeking to complete a set of all twelve in silver.
Value: This particular design type would have likely circulated during the time of the New Testament and during the life of Jesus of Nazareth. While this coin remains uncirculated and is one of the most impressive examples that we’ve handled, we love the value for an advanced collector as it is listed with a starting bid of just $5,000.
Why we love it: The 1916-D is the key to the Mercury Dime business strike set and one of the most popular of all U.S. 20th century coins. This exciting, famous date is an even more notable rarity with Full Bands such as our example here. Pretty rose and golden tints with nice, satiny luster describes the coin’s lovely eye appeal.
Value: The PCGS Price Guide and CPG value on this coin are extremely comparable at a respective $15,000 and $14,500. This closeness in estimates should bring potential buyers great assurance on the accuracy of those numbers. This example is available for purchase via our Make Offer function for just $12,000.
Why we love it: First year of issue Morgan Dollar with the prominent 8th tailfeather on the reverse. This desirable issue comes with flashy bright white surfaces covered in blazing luster with a light tint of toning. The eye appeal and surface quality of this gem is everything one could ask for considering the grade. Just 12 examples are graded finer by PCGS.
Value: The PCGS Price Guide and CPG value on this coin are exactly in line with each other at $5,520. This same value in both estimates is quite exciting and would assure any potential bidder of the accuracy. The starting bid in this week’s auction is set reasonably at just $4,650.
Why we love it: his date is known for being slightly better when it comes to P-Mint Indian Gold Eagles in gem grades, though gets overshadowed by its Denver minted counterpart. A gorgeously satiny gem with copious amounts of luster, this coin would rival the technical aspects and eye appeal of any gem example of this series on the market.
Value: The PCGS Price Guide has a bloated estimate for this coin of $7,500, however the CPG is much closer to earth with a value of $6,560. Beating the CPG Value, we proudly have our best price set at $5,250 via Make Offer, leaving much room for bidders to acquire this pretty gem at a great value.
Why we love it: The 1868 is a popular and scarce Type 2 Double Eagle from a lower mintage of just 98,575 coins struck. The coin is about what one would expect from the grade with some marks in the fields and chatter on the cheek, but the coloring and luster are outstanding. A tough date to find in Mint State as only 11 coins are graded finer by PCGS.
Value: The PCGS Price Guide and CPG value on this coin are extremely comparable at a respective $19,500 and $19,400. This closeness in estimates should bring potential buyers great assurance on the accuracy of those numbers. This coin is available for purchase at just $15,750 through our Make Offer function.
Why we love it: A scarce and popular key date Buffalo Nickel from the San Francisco Mint. This affordable choice VF example displays completely original surfaces that are worn lightly and evenly, making this coin a fair representation of the grade.
Value: The PCGS Price Guide has a value of $350 for this date and grade. However, we are offering this example for $275 via Make Offer, and we think it is a great opportunity to own such a great key date S-Mint Buffalo Nickel at a sensible price.
Why we love it: Popular San Francisco Mint Barber Dime with CAC approval and just 13 coins graded finer by PCGS. Lovely gem that features rose-gold centers with rim tones of blue green. That along with the superb surface quality and underlying luster make the coin truly high-end for the assigned grade.
Value: We estimate this coin to be worth $950, and the PCGS Price Guide has it valued at $1,150. However, this coin is a No Reserve lot in our auction, so the bidder truly decides the value. An excellent opportunity to purchase this lovely toned Barber Dime at a great price.
Why we love it: Fantastic Denver Mint Type 1 type coin for the Standing Liberty Quarter series. Especially desirable as this gem is fully struck giving it a Full Head. Pretty, deeply toned fields with blazing underlying luster gives this piece a nice, wholesome original look.
Value: We estimate this coin to be worth $1,050, and the PCGS Price Guide has it valued at $1,250. However, since this coin is a No Reserve lot in our web auction, the bidders will decide the ultimate value. This is an excellent opportunity to acquire this Full Head Standing Liberty Quarter at a potentially low price.
Why we love it: A great type coin for the famously desirable Capped Bust design. This choice uncirculated example is toned naturally across these lustrous surfaces that scream originality. The surface quality and detail are in line with what is expected from this grade.
Value: Available for $1,000 via Make Offer, we think this is a great price for this type coin especially considering the grade and color. The PCGS Price Guide has its evaluation set $400 higher at $1,400 further showing what an excellent value this is to fill in a hole in a Bust Half Type Set.
Check out all of the available "Coins We Love" from past newsletters