Record-Setting 1855-S Three Dollar Gold Coin Leads Heritage’s Long Beach Expo US Coins Auction Above $14.5 Million

Unique example from San Francisco Mint leads event at $2.16 million

(Dallas, Texas) – A unique 1855-S $3, graded PCGS PR64CAM and hailing from the Bender Family Collection Part III, sold for a record $2.16 million to lead Heritage Auctions’ Long Beach Expo US Coins Signature Auction to $14,576,527 Feb. 9-12, 2023.

The total for the event’s top lot, which drew 47 bids, obliterated the previous auction record of $1,322,500 — a standard that was set in 2011.

“I’ve been watching collector demand for $3 gold pieces increase over the past few years — especially for those proof issues with very low original mintages,” says Todd Imhof, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions. “Coincidentally, the Bender and Harry W. Bass, Jr. collections have come to market at the same time, providing connoisseurs in this series opportunities that might only come once in their lifetimes. “This 1855-S was produced to commemorate the first striking of the $3 denomination at the San Francisco Mint, during a time when virtually all coins from that era were struck at the Philadelphia Mint. Proof coins from any other Mint are prized among collectors, and this one, which was kept for more than a century by a family in California, is a perfect example. I think the strong price ($5.52 million) paid for an equally unique, but better storied, 1870-S from the Bass collection last month helped us deliver a terrific price for the 1855-S from The Bender Family collection.”

The event prompted 2,901 bidders to take part in the auction, which generated perfect sell-through rates of 100% by value and by lots sold.

A 1798/7 Eagle, BD-2, AU58, one of just 20-30 known, drew a winning bid of $504,000. This example is tied with one other example for the No. 5 spot in the PCGS CoinFacts Condition Census and has been off the market for more than seven years. An 1870-CC Liberty Double Eagle graded PCGS XF40 rode the momentum of 36 bids to $480,000. The key issue of the Carson City Mint, this coin has been off the market for the last 14 years and is worthy of becoming the centerpiece of an exceptional collection of Carson City gold.

Thirty-four bids poured in for a 1795 Capped Bust Right Eagle, PCGS MS63, before it ended at $444,000. A favorite among collectors from the earliest days of the hobby, the 1795 Capped Bust Right Eagle includes five known die varieties. This coin is an example of the BD-1 die marriage, one of four pairings for 1795 that fit into the 1795 Stars 10x5, Small Eagle reverse, 13 Leaves category.

A pair of $3 gold coins topped $200,000 each: an 1855 $3, PCGS PR64CAM, the second-finest of four known, reached $265,000 (the previous auction record, set at Heritage Auctions in 2003, was $75,900), while an 1873 Open 3 $3, PCGS PR65DCAM ended at $228,000; the previous auction record, set in 2008 at Heritage Auctions, was $212,750.

Other top lots in the auction included but are not limited to:

• A 1797 Capped Bust Right Eagle, PCGS MS60: $222,000
• An 1804 Capped Bust Right Eagle, PCGS MS61: $216,000
• An 1876 $3, PCGS PR66DCAM: $192,000
• An 1826 Capped Head Half Eagle, PCGS MS62: $162,000
• An 1857 $3, PCGS PR64DCAM: $144,000 (previous auction record: $141,000)
• A 1922 High Relief Proof Peace Dollar PCGS Genuine Proof: $144,000

Complete results can be found at HA.com/1357.

About Heritage Auctions

Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Hong Kong.

Heritage also enjoys the highest Online traffic and dollar volume of any auction house on earth (source: SimilarWeb and Hiscox Report). The Internet’s most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has more than 1,500,000 registered bidder-members and searchable free archives of five million past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit.