Let me give an illustration: There were 7,707 gold dollars minted in 1881, including 87 Proofs. Over the years I have probably handled at least several hundred Uncirculated coins. Years ago I remember selling these in groups of a dozen or two at a time to dealers who wanted them in wholesale quantities. This does not detract from the desirability of the 1881, for today it is a highly prized issue, and although I may have handled a few hundred, and although perhaps a thousand or more Uncirculated pieces exist, far more than that number of collectors desire to own them, and when a single coin crosses the auction block today it is eagerly competed for.

By contrast, the 1858-S dollar was produced to the extent of 10,000 pieces. I have only ever seen a few choice Uncirculated 1858-S dollars, and I doubt if more than a couple dozen exist in all of numismatics. In 1858 not a single collector desired to own a San Francisco Mint gold dollar, as collecting by mintmarks was not in vogue. All pieces slipped unnoticed into circulation. When collecting by dates and mintmarks finally became popular, after the publication in 1893 of Augustus G. Heaton's study, Mint Marks (the title used two words instead of one, as we do today), a number of people became interested, but by that time Uncirculated 1858-S gold dollars were no longer to be found. The same analogy can be extended to numerous other early varieties.

Over the years it has been my good fortune to have bought and sold several complete sets of gold dollars, including at least two purchased from Jerry Cohen and Abner Kreisberg, who seemed to have a magnetism for attracting such sets (not to overlook other spectacular sets of gold coins, including at one time a complete set of $4 stellas).

As noted, the most popular way to buy gold dollars is to acquire them as part of a type set. This is as good a place as any to mention that a nice basic gold type set, consisting of major design types from the mid-19th century onward, consists of the following: three types of gold dollars, Liberty Head or Coronet quarter eagle and Indian quarter eagle, $3 gold, Liberty Head half eagle, Indian head half eagle, Liberty Head $10, Indian $10, Liberty Head $20, and Saint-Gaudens $20. Each coin in this set is very affordable. If you want to become more technical, you can expand the set to include additional varieties of $5, $10, and $20 gold coins.

Many clever counterfeits exist of gold dollars (and other gold coins), and if you are not an expert yourself, insist on buying coins from a reputable professional numismatist who guarantees everything sold. Counterfeits, particularly of gold dollars and $3 pieces, seem to proliferate overseas, and if I had a nickel for every tourist who has shown me a "bargain" gold coin he bought in Europe, I'd have enough money to keep me in milk shakes for the next 20 years!