Million Dollar Babies

The list of coins worth a million dollars is growing – and growing fast!

In the last week alone, four coins broke the million dollar barrier: an 1866 No Motto Silver Dollar sold for just over $1.2 million in the American Numismatic Rarities sale, an 1894-S Barber Dime sold for $1,035,000 in the Heritage sale, and two Brasher Doubloons (one with the hallmark on the wing, another with the hallmark on the breast) sold for $2.415 and $2.99 million, respectively, in the same Heritage sale.

As of today, fifteen coins have sold for over one million dollars at auction. This does not include coins that have sold privately, so the actual number of million dollar coins is certainly much higher. Also not included are any of the several coins that have brushed the million dollar mark, many of which might break the barrier in their next appearance on the market.

The surprising number of “million dollar babies” reflects two things: the strength of the rare coin market and the steep jump in personal and discretionary incomes. A million dollars remains a lot of money, but it seems that more and more people are willing to exchange large sums of money for spectacular coins.

The million dollar barrier was first broken in May 1996, when dealer Jay Parrino purchased Louis Eliasberg’s example of the 1913 Liberty Head Nickel for $1,485,000 (Bowers and Merena were the sellers). After the sale, Parrino stated his desire to be the first person to pay over a million dollars for a coin and that he had been willing to pay up to $2 million for this particular one.

In 1997, only one million dollar coin was sold – an 1804 Silver Dollar that realized $1.815 million in a Bowers and Merena auction.

1998 suffered a dry spell during which no coins broke the million dollar barrier.

In May 1999, Ira & Larry Goldberg sold a 1907 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle for $1.21 million. In August 1999, Bowers and Merena set a new record of $4.14 million for the remarkable 1804 Silver Dollar from the Childs collection.

Only one coin exceeded a million dollars in 2000 – the Dexter-Dunham example of the 1804 Silver Dollar, which sold for $1.84 million in the October Stack’s sale.

In March 2001, Eliasberg’s 1913 Liberty Head Nickel re-appeared in the March 2001 ANA Mid-Winter auction conducted by Superior Galleries. This time, it sold for $1.84 million (at the 2005 F.U.N. show, PCGS displayed the Nickel on behalf of owner Ed Lee, who reportedly purchased the coin for over $3 million and who now values it at $4 million)!

2002 saw a new high-water mark for a coin, one that still remains the record today. In a joint sale, Sotheby’s and Stack’s auctioned off the only monetized 1933 Double Eagle for an incredible $7.59 million.

In 2003, three coins broke the million dollar mark. The Goldbergs resold the 1907 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle in February for $1,159,000, down $50,000 from its previous record. In May, Stack’s sold the finest known 1870-S Silver Dollar for $1,092,500. Finally, in July, Bowers and Merena sold the Adams-Carter-Kagin’s 1804 Silver Dollar for $1,207,500 (more than $300,000 higher than in its previous sale in November 2001…not a bad profit after holding the coin for less than two years).

Only one “million dollar baby” sold in 2004, not because of a lack of demand, but because few “big” coins appeared at auction that year. In November, one of the five known 1885 Trade Dollars sold for $1,006,250 in the “Richmond Sale” conducted by David Lawrence.

2005 is off to a great start, with four rarities (mentioned above) setting new levels in just the first month alone. Now that the psychological barrier has been broken (and crushed), we can expect to see a lot more “million dollar babies” in the near future. What once remained the realm of the rarest and the best is now just another level at which great coins are bought and sold. In short, a million bucks just doesn’t seem to buy what it used to, but it’ll still buy you one heck of a coin!