Weekly Market Report: 2001 Continues to be One of the Most Exciting Years in Numismatic History!

By Bruce Amspacher - May 15, 2001

Original 1804 dollar part of the King of Siam set

The world of numismatics is buzzing with excitement! In a year that has seen the 1889-CC Morgan dollar in PCGS MS68 sell for over $500,000, the gold bars from the S. S. Central America come on the market, the 1933 $20 gold piece legalized for sale and the 1913 Liberty nickel sell for a record price, what else could possibly happen? That question has been answered!

The famed King of Siam set of coins that includes one of the original "Class 1" 1804 silver dollars has just sold for more than $4 million. This magnificent set also includes a Proof 1804 "Plain 4" $10 gold piece and a fantastic grouping of 1834-dated Proof coins that were given as a gift to the King of Siam in 1836. For a comprehensive related story, click here.

Bowers & Merena offers LaRiviere Part III on May 21.

No matter where your numismatic interests lie there will be something for you in the upcoming Cabinet of Lucien M. LaRiviere auction being conducted by Bowers & Merena Galleries on May 21, 2001 in New York City. Here are a few of the highlights of this great sale:

1860 Gold Dollar, PCGS Proof 66. One of the finest quality Proof gold coins from pre-Civil War America. Tied for the finest graded with one other coin and one of only 50 (or so) pieces believed to survive in all grades combined.

1856 Quarter Eagle, PCGS MS67. This is the finest graded example of this scarce issue and quite probably the finest known. Described in the catalogue as "incredible quality," a statement that is irrefutable.

1856-S $5 Liberty, PCGS MS64. There are only three examples certified in Mint State, and this is far and away the finest. An important and historic coin.

1907 Periods, Wire Edge $10 Indian, PCGS MS64. Only 550 examples were struck of this rarity and it is estimated that no more than 375 still survive today

Nearly 200 lots of Colonial coinage! What's your favorite? Hogge money? Pine Tree silver? Maryland coinage? Nova Constellatios? Connecticut and New Jersey coppers? Fugio cents? They're all here in this outstanding offering.

Online bidding is available through May 19. To view lots and/or to bid online, click here.

Kingswood "Durham" sale is June 7.

Kingswood Coin Auctions "Durham" sale is only a few weeks away. Scheduled for June 7, this telephone/mail/fax/e-mail auction offers a large selection, with every coin certified by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). The sale will be online by Friday, May 18 (or before), so be sure to check it out.

Auction lot viewing for the Kingswood sale will be available at the Long Beach Coin & Collectibles Exposition from Wednesday, May 30 through Saturday, June 2, 2001.

Early US coins continue to show strength.

How is the US coin market doing? "Quite well," says Van Simmons of David Hall Rare Coins in Newport Beach, California. Mr. Simmons's opinions are highly valued since he has sold more than a quarter of a billion dollars' worth of rare coins in his career. That figure doesn't include silver bags and bullion, just rare coin singles of high quality.

"The most active area continues to be early US coins. A Draped Bust silver dollar or pre-1834 gold coin usually stays in inventory for less than one day. Other popular series are high quality commemoratives and most 20th century issues. The market is definitely the best that it has been in several years, all things considered."

Bruce Amspacher has been a professional writer since the 1950s and a professional numismatist since the 1960s. He won the OIPA sportswriting award in 1958 and again in 1959, then spent eight years in college studying American Literature. This background somehow led him to become a professional numismatist in 1968. Since then he has published hundreds of articles on rare coins in dozens of publications as well as publishing his own newsletter, the “Bruce Amspacher Investment Report,” for more than a decade. His areas of expertise include Liberty Seated dollars, Morgan and Peace dollars, United States gold coins, sports trivia, Western history, modern literature and the poetry of Emily Dickinson. In 1986 he was a co-founder of the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS).