http://64.13.226.140/rare-coin-news/ en info@zoomcoin.com Copyright 2008 2008-02-22T22:41:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/1861-p-paquet-double-eagle-sold-for-record-25-million-by-monaco/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/1861-p-paquet-double-eagle-sold-for-record-25-million-by-monaco/#When:22:41:00Z For immediate release February 21, 2008 (Newport Beach, California) – One of the two known 1861 Philadelphia Mint Paquet Reverse $20 gold coins has been sold for a record $2.5 million by Monaco Rare Coins of Newport Beach, California. "The buyer is an Orange County California business executive who has been collecting since childhood and now is assembling a marvelous collection of Type One ("Liberty Head" 1850 to 1866) Double Eagles. The record price for this spectacular rarity is indicative of the desirability of this historic coin as well as the continuing strength of the rare coin market," said Adam Crum, Vice President of Monaco. The sale was announced by Crum during the recent Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo where the coin was part of a multi-million exhibit of Type One Double Eagles. The coin is graded PCGS MS-61. The anonymous new owner issued a brief statement saying, "I am extremely grateful to Adam Crum and Monaco for the acquisition of this coin. I am honored to be the custodian of such an important piece of history." Nearly three million Double Eagle gold pieces were struck in 1861 in Philadelphia, but today only two are known with a slightly modified tail's side design made by Assistant Mint Engraver, Anthony Paquet. He also is known among Mint historians as the engraver of the first Congressional Medal of Merit. Born in Germany in 1814, Paquet arrived in the United States in 1848. He became an assistant to the Mint Chief Engraver, James Longacre, in 1857. Two years later he began working on new designs for the reverse of the Double Eagle, making the lettering taller and more slender. "Technical problems with striking the coins and perhaps some internal politics at the Mint in early 1861 resulted in a sudden halt to the production of the $20 gold pieces with the Paquet design on the tail's side of the coins. The mint resumed production using Longacre's version. Only two surviving 1861 Philadelphia Mint examples are known with the Paquet reverse design," explained Crum, who is co-author of the reference book, "An Insider's Guide to Collecting Type I Double Eagles." The pedigree of this coin traces back to the collection of Baltimore adventurer, Col. Mendes I. Cohen, which was sold at auction in 1875 by one of America's first major coin dealers, Edward Cogan. The coin then vanished from the radar for nearly a century until it was rediscovered in Europe in 1965 in a bag with other $20 gold pieces. Subsequent owners included notable companies and individuals including Paramount International Coin Corporation, Rare Coin Company of America (RARCOA), Abe Kosoff, Mike Brownlee and H. Jeff Browning. It was first acquired by Monaco for $1,610,000 at the Heritage Auction Galleries sale during the American Numismatic Association World's Fair of Money in Denver in 2006, and subsequently privately sold for $1,771,000. "Few coins are as important, and even fewer can hold the distinction of being rarer. It's one of only two surviving specimens, and the fourth rarest United States coin behind three unique items; the 1870-S half-dime, the 1870-S $3 ‘Princess' and the 1873-CC No Arrows dime. This truly is a wonderful coin, and we're very excited to have the opportunity to assist a collector to own such a historical coin," said Crum. For additional information, contact Monaco Rare Coins toll-free at (888) 751-1933, or online at www.zoomcoin.com. 2008-02-22T22:41:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/is-the-us-dollar-becoming-just-another-currency/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/is-the-us-dollar-becoming-just-another-currency/#When:01:17:00Z by Adam Crum One of the challenges to a euro-based oil transaction trading system has been the lack of a euro-denominated oil pricing standard, or oil "marker" as it is called in the industry. The three current oil markers, West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), Norway Brent crude and UAE Dubai crude, are all denominated in U.S. dollars. I use the words "has been" because Iran switched its oil payments for its European Union (EU) and Asian Clearing Union (ACU) customers from dollars to euros in mid-2003. And it appears that a new oil marker based on Iranian crude and denominated in euros only has become a reality. Is it deja vu? Iraq's oil export currency was changed to the euro by Saddam Hussein in September 2000 when he announced that Iraq would no longer accept dollars for oil being sold under the United Nations' Oil-for-Food program. However, in June 2003, that country's oil sales once again became denominated in U.S. dollars after the involvement of the U.S. military. In actual fact, Iran has already committed a more egregious "offense." If Iran's oil bourse is successful, it would challenge the domination of both London's International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), both of which are owned, incidentally, by U.S. corporations. Tehran's oil bourse constitutes a clear encroachment on the supremacy of the dollar in a critically important international market. Without some sort of U.S. intervention, the euro will quite possibly establish a solid foothold in worldwide oil trade. The Euro has become the second world reserve currency? Throughout 2003 and 2004 Russia and China, for example, significantly increased their central bank holdings of the euro and continued this trend in 2007. As recently as mid-November 2007, Cheng Sewei, vice-chairman of China's parliament, announced that China will shift the country's reserves out of dollar-denominated investments and into the euro and other strong currencies. This could be construed as a move anticipating that the euro has become a second world reserve currency. Beijing central banker Xu Jian twisted the knife, saying, "the dollar is losing its status as the world currency. The U.S. dollar's global currency status is shaky," he said, "and the creditworthiness of dollar assets is falling." In July 2005, China re-valued the yuan/RNB; however, that was not nearly as significant as its decision to move towards a "basket of currencies" (including the yen, euro, and dollar), at the same time disassociating itself from a sole U.S. dollar peg. (The re-valuation immediately lowered China's monthly bill for imported oil by 2%...and that was when oil was $45) It is predicted that countries and companies unhappy holding huge amounts of overvalued U.S. dollars to finance their oil transactions will drive the success of the Iranian bourse. This could absolutely be true, if China is any indication. Huge sums could begin shifting from the dollar to the euro, although exactly how much will now be difficult to calculate since the Federal Reserve no longer publishes data on the M3 money supply, the data that tracks how many U.S. dollars are held by foreigners. Macroeconomic and geopolitical implications 
of a successful Iranian bourse critical In 2003, the United States-administered Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq canceled oil lease contracts from 1997-2002. These were contracts into which France, Russia, China and other nations had entered under Saddam Hussein's regime. Since these contracts were worth a reported $1.1 trillion, the nullification engendered political tensions between the U.S and the European Union, Russia and China. This was also, you may remember, when Iraqi oil sales once again became denominated in U.S. dollars only, having previously been replaced by euros under Saddam Hussein. Since Iran and China signed a substantial oil and gas trade agreement on October 28, 2004 valued between $70 billion and $100 billion dollars, should China's oil investments be subject to a similar fate in Iran, the geopolitical implications would be serious. Yet, China is just one example of the complex macroeconomic and political implications of a successful Iranian bourse if they did implement euro-settlement capability. The Iranian bourse could potentially remove the major technical obstacle for a petroeuro system in international oil trade, initiate petrodollar versus petroeuro currency hedging and introduce entirely new dynamics to the biggest market in the world. The Iranian bourse could create a significant shift in the flow of international commerce to the Middle East, while much of it is now linked to the United Kingdom's Brent crude marker. The United Kingdom will find itself even more uncomfortably situated between United States financial interests and those of the European Union. The dollar's international demand/liquidity value will most certainly fall further. Policy makers in the U.S. will face difficult choices: compromise, petrodollar vs petroeuro warfare or, in the extreme, military intervention. The U.S. dollar...just another currency? According to reports, the Saudis have shown an interest in the Iranian bourse since 9/11. Saudi Arabian investors have been increasing their investments in Iran over western markets. In fact, it is no surprise that many Middle Eastern countries would like to see the bourse successful for obvious reasons. Although we do not know exactly how the Iranian oil bourse will affect the dollar, clearly a euro-denominated oil exchange could catch on, and it would seriously challenge the unique position of the U.S. dollar as the world's sole reserve currency as well. A successful Iranian bourse will solidify the petroeuro as an alternative oil transaction currency, and thereby end the petrodollar's domination in the oil and gas market. On December 8, 2007 Iran stopped selling its oil for U.S. dollars. The Iranian ISNA news agency cited the country's oil minister G. Nozari as saying, "In line with a policy of selling crude oil in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, the sale of our country's oil in U.S. dollars has been completely eliminated." Should the dollar become just another currency, its value would drop even further under the weight of the huge U.S. deficits and debt. Although I am not among the "doomers" that say a collapse is imminent, I do believe it reasonable to expect that the dollar will remain weak. I think is safe to say that the speculative impact these and other events have had a tremendous amount of positive impact on the value of gold and rare coins. Conventional wisdom says that to be truly diversified and safe, you must own gold in one of its various forms. Gold coins are a great value now (although quality coins will become more difficult to find). Now is an opportune time to trade up and add to a collection. Tens of thousands of new collectors and investors have emerged over the past seven years and many coins have been added to collections, which is good for the market since those coins will be off the market for years to come. Numismatic rare gold coins have attained long-term wealth preserving status because they... Can't be produced and, thus, devalued by governmental authorities; Are easily traded in a market that is always open and gets hotter and hotter; Provide an ideal hedge against inflation and consistently outperform other assets in times of economic turmoil, insecurity and rising interest rates; and Possess aesthetic and historic value. I encourage you to call one of Monaco's account representatives toll-free at 1-888-900-9948 to initiate or enhance the rare coin portion of your portfolio. Do it right now! Among other benefits, our investment professionals can... Assist you in planning your rare coin investment strategy or reviewing one that is already established, and Keep you updated on market news, what America's top numismatists are doing and recommending and new offerings. Monaco Rare Coins is a member of the Monex family of companies, industry leaders in hard asset investment since 1967 with over $30 billion in client transactions. Monaco will always make you an offer to buy your certified rare U.S. coins, even if you purchased them elsewhere. * The term "bourse" refers to a stock exchange for securities trading and is derived from the French stock exchange in Paris, the Federation Internationale des Bourses de Valeurs. 2008-01-04T01:17:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/kellogg-50-gold-piece-a-numismatic-classic/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/kellogg-50-gold-piece-a-numismatic-classic/#When:23:25:00Z The gold coins associated with the SS Central America continue to grow in value and popularity. There were a number of SS Central America coins that went under the hammer at the 2007 ANA Convention this past month in Milwaukee. Among them were two of the gold $50 Kellogg Proof Commemoratives which have raised (considerably!) the average prices realized for these classics. If you are not familiar with these beautiful, giant, 2.5 ounce gold coins, let me give you a brief overview: In 1855, a few splendid $50 gold coins were minted by Kellogg & Co. using gold processed in their assay office located near the California Gold Rush fields in the Sierra Nevada. Today, only about a dozen of these coins are known to exist, and all are proof strikes with an estimated value of $500,000 for a choice example. In essence, they are extremely rare and out of reach for most collectors if and when one does surface in the marketplace. By incredible circumstance, the original dies for these rarities survived, and under the direction of the California Historical Society, a limited number of beautiful gem proof cameo commemorative coins were produced using California Gold Rush gold processed in the 1850s by Kellogg! The story is as incredible as the stunning pieces themselves. Everyone knows the amazing story of the California Gold Rush and how, in 1848, the financial course of our country was dramatically changed. But few people outside of the coin world know just how important the Kellogg $50 gold coins are to knowledgeable coin collectors and investors. Obviously, when an item is valued at more than a half million dollars, it is generally popular with certain kinds of folks. But now, through amazing set of circumstances, a stunning example of the beautiful Kellogg $50 gold pieces can be acquired by nearly anyone savvy enough to save for their futures. Because of the discovery and recovery of the gold lost in 1857 shipwreck of the SS Central America, these Kellogg numismatic classics have been re-struck using gold actually assayed and processed by Kellogg & Co. during the California Gold Rush. In the rich treasure trove recovered from the Central America shipwreck, there were a total of 343 Kellogg & Humbert gold monetary ingots of various shapes and sizes found. Of that total, 69 of the gold "bricks" were melted and the gold from those historical artifacts were used to mint these Kellogg commemorative coins which have already become classics. The market for these beautiful commemoratives has steadily grown, and the auction records, which I watch closely, show steadily increasing prices. As I said at the beginning of this article, there were two lots of the Kellogg commemoratives which went on the auction block at this year's ANA Convention Signature Sale by HRC. Their lot numbers were 3539 and 3540 . . . and the average price realized was $3,881.25! I am on record for saying these coins would become numismatic classics, and I believe they will someday be worth multiples of current values. No doubt many of my industry colleagues will find this statement somewhat controversial, but most of them probably never believed the original Kellogg $50 coins would be worth $500,000 today (probably on their way to $1,000,000 or more) either! The marketplace, however, is showing the trend for the Kellogg $50 commemoratives to be extremely positive: I've watched the average auction prices realized on the couple of dozen coins seen over the past 18 months or so increase already . . . and by over 25% so far. If you don't already own one of these classic Gold Rush rarities, call your Monaco Representative today to check on their availability. I am certain we can, in short order, get you one of these beauties for just $3,300 to $3,500 . . . well under recent auction prices. And if we don't have one in-house at the time you call . . . we'll find you one quickly! So call our special Monaco hotline at 1-888-900-9948 to get the process started. 2007-08-22T23:25:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/lost-gold-of-the-republic-final-release/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/lost-gold-of-the-republic-final-release/#When:23:15:00Z The Story of the S.S. Republic Treasure In October of 1865, six months after the end of the U.S. Civil War, the side-wheel steamer S.S. Republic was bound from New York to New Orleans. Aboard the former Civil War blockade ship was precious cargo to aid in the rebuilding of the war-ravaged city of New Orleans to its prewar glory. Unfortunately, the ship never made port, sinking in a massive hurricane off the coast of Georgia. The ship and its cargo, including a reported $400,000 in gold and silver coins, came to rest 1,700 feet deep in the Atlantic Ocean. Nearly 140 years later a team of salvage experts, aided by state-of-the-art electronics and recovery equipment, found and brought to the surface a stunning treasure trove of numismatic classics. The quality of the coins recovered cannot be overstated. You see, during and just after the Civil War, in both the North and especially the South, gold and silver coins were a valued but extremely scarce commodity. Rampant inflation, caused by both sides financing their huge war costs through the near-nonstop printing of paper currency, resulted in the widespread hoarding of "hard money." At the end of the war, the South, for all practical purposes, was broke...its paper money was worthless, its hard money virtually gone. The years following the Civil War saw wild fluctuations in the value of gold and silver. As a result of these fluctuations, many of the coins of this era were melted or saw heavy circulation. The wonderful and rare gold treasures offered in this final release are available today only because of the tragic loss of the S.S. Republic. The coins were literally preserved in their pristine condition due to the fact that they were locked in a time capsule at the bottom of the deep blue sea. The Coins The denomination of $10 was minted for a few short years, between 1795 and 1804. Orders by President Jefferson were given to cease the minting of $10 gold coins, or Eagles, in December 1804. The mint did not make the $10 denomination again until July 1838 when the Secretary of the Treasury issued orders to begin the minting of the $10 Liberty coin. The mintage issues remained very limited with only a few years seeing more than 200,000 coins minted annually, and some of those coins are now exceedingly rare due to the circumstances of the day. The $10 Liberty without the motto, "In God We Trust" was minted from 1838 to 1866 in several different varieties, many of which are available in this deal. The Deal I am excited to announce that Monaco Rare Coin has recently completed the acquisition of the last remaining "Lost Gold of the Republic" gold coins. This final release is noteworthy in that it includes some 48 different dates, mint marks and rare varieties of the "No Motto" $10 Eagles. The average grade is AU53-AU55, which is amazing given the fact that many of these rarities are nearly impossible to find in ANY condition. And, for the most discriminating of collectors, there are a precious few prized coins in mint state condition, but they won't last long. Here is the most exciting part of this deal: We are now offering these last remaining coins for BIG savings over what many S.S. Republic coins have been sold for by other dealers since the release of this exciting treasure. How can we do this? Very simple: "Cash is King," especially when negotiating larger purchases! Our ability to fund deals quickly is undoubtedly one of our greatest benefits for our clients. I worked many hours finalizing this deal and getting coins at the best possible prices for our valued clients. There’s no doubt the $10 Liberties in this deal are instant classics, but I want more for our clients than just great prices on gold coins. As part of my S.S. Republic acquisition, I also secured a small number of Seated Liberty Silver Half Dollars, as well as some other very interesting artifacts recovered from the shipwreck, and will include one of these beautiful Seated Liberty halves with your purchase of select S.S. Republic $10 Eagles... absolutely FREE! That is an incredible bonus, valued up to $1,250... IF you act before they are all gone. Don't miss this exciting once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a beautiful and certified piece of Civil War history. Call your Monaco representative as soon as possible at 1-888-751-1933. 2007-08-09T23:15:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/fun-is-an-understatement/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/fun-is-an-understatement/#When:00:47:00Z by Neil Sharkey, Monaco Rare Coin As I walked onto the bourse floor of January's Florida United Numismatists (F.U.N.) convention for the first time I realized this show was going to be big!  The staff of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL seemed to be in overdrive.  Adam Crum and I were allowed to enter the floor early to set up our multi-million dollar featured exhibit.  The Smithsonian and Monaco Rare Coin exhibits were side by side, setting up for what would go on the record as one of the best F.U.N. conventions ever! A staff member assigned to our exhibit already knew who we were and why we were there as he asked, "Are you the ones with the $15 million Civil War exhibit?"  I smiled with pride and said, "Yes."  His reply, while gesturing toward the two 10-foot tall, 800-pound crates, "I can't wait to see what y'all have in dim' thangs."  To be perfectly honest, I couldn't either.  I had not seen the amazing artifacts in this exhibit since they had graced the bourse at the A.N.A. Convention in Pittsburg, PA three years ago.  But this time, it would be even better!  The feature of this year's exhibit was not one, but two, Philadelphia-minted Paquet $20 Gold Double Eagles.  They are the only two known, and this was perhaps the first time these two giants of numismatics had been together since they were minted in 1861.  It was like reuniting old friends, and I couldn't help but think what a lovely pair of earrings they would make! Anthony C. Paquet's new design for $20 Coronet Liberty Double Eagles was both approved – and rejected – at the Philadelphia Mint in the year 1861, and only two of the "P-mint" Paquet $20s are known to exist to this day.  The crowning achievement of any numismatist would be to own one of these two examples. In 1861, the San Francisco Mint was a bit slower to receive news that the Paquet design would not be used, and they'd already minted 19,250 coins by the time they'd received the news that the Paquet had been cancelled.  Today, less than 100 of these classic San Francisco-minted Paquet rarities exist, and both the Philadelphia and San Francisco Paquet $20s have a place in the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins book. It is truly amazing that Monaco Rare Coin was able to reunite these incredible rarities and display them at what turned out to be an historic F.U.N. Show. While standing there looking over this gigantic convention concourse, I remember thinking to myself, "How will they ever fill this place?"  Later that afternoon, as all of the dealers entered to set up their tables, I thought, "Wow, this place sure filled up quickly!"  The next day, when the public was allowed to enter, the bourse floor looked like a surging ocean of people.  Thousands of collectors and dealers were all in a frenzy to capture as much market share as possible. The location of our exhibit was the perfect place to enjoy a bird's eye view of the activity on the floor.  It was like watching a football game from the first row on the 50-yard line, only this "field" was 4 to 5 times larger than a football field.  One of the many benefits of having an incredible exhibit is the fact that everyone wants to see it.  I didn't have to elbow my way through the maze of people in each isle to talk with the dealers whose opinions mattered to me . . . I just sat back and let them all come to me. After all, not a single person alive today has ever seen both 1861 Philadelphia-minted Paquet $20s at the same time.  And for the entire week, one person after another exclaimed, "What an amazing display!" . . . or "What a great show!" . . . and "I've never seen the F.U.N. show this busy!" One of the more exciting evenings for me was sitting in on the Platinum Night Rare Coin Auction.  Not only was this auction large in terms of lots, but it would prove to bring down some huge money.  Of course, all combined, the five nights of auctions would prove to be as exciting as the bourse floor itself.  Many new price records were realized in almost all sectors of the market. There were far too many coins which sold for more than six figures to mention them all, but I will detail some of the more interesting specimens, limiting the list to items of $200,000 or more.  The only exception, because I collect them myself and help others build sets as well, is the 1866-S No Motto Type I $20 graded AU58, which sold for a record $195,500.  This is a coin that when Adam published his Red Alert Buy on this series would have cost you approximately $50,000.  Not too shabby of a price increase over a three-year or so period! Date Denomination Grade Service Price Realized 1866-S Type I $20 NM AU58 PCGS $195,500 1795 $10 13 Leaves MS63 PCGS $201,500 1855 Wass Mol $50 MS60 PCGS $212,500 1875 $3 Princess PR66 NGC $218,500 1652 Willow Shilling AU58 PCGS $230,000 1930-S $20 St. Gaudens MS66 PCGS $230,000 1857 $5 Liberty PR65 NGC $230,000 1931-D $20 St. Gaudens MS66 PCGS $230,000 1828 Quarter Eagle PR64 PCGS $241,500 1836 Quarter Eagle PR66 NGC $253,000 1796 $2.50 No Stars MS61 NGC $253,000 1913-S $10 Indian MS66 PCGS $287,500 1796 $2.50 No Stars MS63 NGC $287,500 1907 $20 High Relief MS68 PCGS $316,250 1879 Coiled Hair $4 PR63 NGC $316,250 1933 $10.00 MS64 NGC $316,250 1855 Gold $1 PR66 PCGS $316,250 1795 $5 Small Eagle MS64 PCGS $345,000 1870 $20 Liberty PR66 PCGS $368,000 1921 $20 St. Gaudens MS64 PCGS $373,750 1907 $10 Indian RE MS67 NGC $402,500 1907 $20 High Relief MS69 NGC $546,250 1855 Kellogg $50 PR64 PCGS $747,500 1796 $2.50 Stars MS65 NGC $862,500 1879 Quintuple Stella PR62 PCGS $862,500 1839/8 $10.00 PR67UC NGC $1,610,000 1907 $20 UHR St. Gaudens PR68 PCGS $1,840,000 2007-01-21T00:47:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/americas-first-20-gold-coins-in-short-supply/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/americas-first-20-gold-coins-in-short-supply/#When:22:14:00Z by Adam Crum In the February 2003 edition of the Rare Coin Insider I recommended the acquisition of America’s first $20 gold coins, the Type I Double Eagle. Since that time there have been significant advances in the value of many dates, mintmarks and grades in this spectacular series. The chart accompanying this article shows the actual increases of these coins as published by the Coin Dealer Newsletter Quarterly III a quarterly bid sheet which publishes the most recent bids by dealers on electronic trading networks as well as auction results. This chart lists the increases in bids since December 2002, four weeks before my Red Alert buy signal was issued. Since that time there have been a number of record-setting public auction prices established for various key dates in the series. It is quite obvious to me that the Type I Double Eagle market is now poised for a second round of price increases, as there is little available supply. With the SS Central America (SSCA) Type I coins now effectively off the market and in the hands of collectors and investors, remaining in their wake is a significant increase in activity by new set builders chasing any examples of this popular issue they can find. After all, Type I Double Eagles were the first $20 gold pieces ever struck and were coined in one of the most romantic periods in our nation’s rich history. From the discovery of vast amounts of gold in California . . . to the worst peacetime maritime disaster in America’s history . . . to the culmination of a horrifying Civil War, these large and historically significant gold coins are poised to reach new highs. If they do, and I believe they will, you will want to own as many of these coins as you can get your hands on. If you read my Special Report on Type I Double Eagles (call your Monaco Account Rep to receive a complimentary copy), originally published in November 2001, then you are well aware that I’ve been recommending these wonderful rarities since long before their recent price increases. In that Type I report I explained that the SSCA treasure had doubled the population of Type I coins which, in turn, caused a severe price drop. Even before that report, I recommended in the July/August 1999 issue of my Coin Market Insider newsletter that collectors stay away from Type I Double Eagles . . . before they dropped in value! Now with the enormity of the SSCA deal reduced to only those items that may trade in the secondary market, the stage is set to support much higher prices throughout this entire series. Another interesting component, which has increased the level of interest significantly, is that these once prohibitively expensive coins are now far more affordable by far more collectors. Looking at this logically, I believe this adds explosive potential to these very desirable rare coins. Since the publication of my book, An Insider’s Guide to Collecting Type I Double Eagles, the increased level of interest for Type I coins has surprised even me, and with my second, more extensive edition due out by June of next year, Type I Double Eagles should remain among the hottest items on any bourse floor or auction. In my view, it is clearly the time to begin aggressively acquiring Type I Double Eagles of every date and variety. Why? Two reasons: One, the 1999 drop in values due to the increased supplies brought on by the SSCA treasure has not only evaporated, but the key date coins of the series have set new records sparking increased enthusiasm for the entire series; and two, the current economic and geopolitical conditions point to tangible investments more than at any time in the last 20 years, perhaps more than any point in our nation’s history. While the price support for these coins comes mainly from collectors, the fact that the spot price of gold has broken out above a long term bear line certainly makes these coins more interesting. Gold is up some 150% since 2001 lows, while the purchasing power of the U.S. Dollar has plummeted. That is a clear and certain shift in investor sentiment! And although I believe Type I coins offer one of the best values for the dollar as a store of wealth for the long haul, the current status and trends of the markets should provide tremendous opportunity, without tremendous risk, for those who may be a little less patient. The price history of the Type I series offers some insight into what rarities, when popular, can do in a bull market. For example, as indicated earlier, the following chart shows price activity as published by the Coin Dealer Newsletter: [To receive a copy of this chart, call a Monaco Account Representative at 1-888-900-9948] This chart confirms the old adage that buying rare, popular and historically significant coins will pay off more times than not, especially over the long-haul. In my book I show many ways to acquire Type I Double Eagles. I believe this book is an invaluable resource and offers both the collector and investor more insight into this exciting issue than any other book published. It ranks the rarities of this series by date, mint, quality and popularity. It also shows how many of each date and mintmark, as well as grade, have sold at auction since 1990 . . . and my second edition will give even more information about this historical series. If you have already purchased some of these wonderful Type I coins, congratulations! Buy more . . . and don’t be afraid to acquire quantities of the same date. They can be used as “trading chips” to acquire harder-to-find date coins in the future. In short, I believe these coins will continue to climb in value and are set to launch off their recently established plateau. By adding quantities of the same date, you can use cheaper dollars to acquire the tougher coins if and when they become available. Monaco will continue to be very aggressive in searching for and acquiring coins of this series. And I believe you should do the same. I talk with dealers every day, walk countless bourse floors, attend every auction and, simply put, the supply is very tight. This trend is just beginning . . . and the secret is out. If you would like to receive a copy of my book, or if you have one and would like to go on the waiting list to receive the new and expanded full-color hardcover edition, call your Monaco Account Representative today. Find out why thousands of collectors and investors are so excited about the Type I series and why I love these coins so much: They come from an era that defined our nation . . . they are big . . . they are old . . . and they are GOLD! 2006-12-01T22:14:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/wrongful-seizure-by-us-marshals/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/wrongful-seizure-by-us-marshals/#When:22:10:00Z “This was not a garnishment, we were robbed!” by Adam Crum It was a Twilight Zone moment for me on September 14, 2006, to be sure.  Standing before me at Monaco’s $10 million California Gold Rush era exhibit at the Long Beach Coin, Stamp and Collectibles Expo were men who identified themselves as officers of the U.S. Marshals Service.  With the marshals were men dressed in official looking Brinks security guard uniforms . . . and some attorneys.  They promptly served me with a notice of seizure, a seizure order signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer T. Lum of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, a writ of maritime attachment and garnishment, and a number of other legal papers.  An elaborate joke or an Ocean’s Eleven-style sting? To say that I was incredulous is an understatement, and the paper badges the Marshals had flashed me did nothing to allay my skepticism.  My brain went into overdrive as I tried to make sense of what was happening.  Was I being filmed by a television show?  Was someone playing an extraordinarily elaborate practical joke on me?  Or worse, was this an Ocean’s Eleven-style sting?  One thing I knew for sure: If this was real, it was a gross abuse of justice.  Valued at over $3.5 million dollars in today’s dollars and owned by Monaco and its customers, the items listed for seizure were six rare and unique gold ingots (including 754-ounce Justh & Hunter and 662-ounce Kellogg & Humbert gold ingots) and an 1857 $20 gold piece.  These items were recovered nearly two decades ago from the 1857 shipwreck of the SS Central America, the legendary “Ship of Gold,” by famed underwater explorer, Tommy Thompson.  “The greatest treasure ever found” Life Magazine March 1992 Between 1853 and 1857, once it had made its way from Panama City via rail to the Atlantic Ocean, nearly a third of the gold shipped from California to New York was carried by the side-wheeler, the United States Mail Steamship Central America.  In September 1857, on her 44th trip and carrying a fortune in gold rush gold and nearly six hundred passengers (many of whom were also carrying gold), the ship sailed directly into a hurricane of monstrous proportions as she rounded the Florida Keys.  At 8:00 PM Saturday, September 12, 1857, having miraculously transferred every woman and child (except one) to another ship that had come upon them, the Central America rose bow-up, disappeared into the seething ocean and came to rest 8,000 feet below the surface about 160 miles off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina.  Over four hundred lives and twenty-one tons of California gold bullion and coins were lost.  Historians say that it took the sinking of just one ship, the SS Central America, to trigger the Panic of 1857 and the failure of thousands of businesses nationwide.  Some believe that this chain of events may have helped to precipitate the Civil War.  Fast-forwarding to the 20th century, Tommy Thompson and the Columbus-America Discovery Group, utilizing cutting-edge technology and an undersea robot, went searching for the mostly forgotten S.S. Central America and its treasure.  In September 1989, Thompson and his colleagues sailed into Norfolk Harbor with a priceless and historically-significant treasure in gold coins, ingots and gold dust from the California Gold Rush that they had recovered from the wreck of the Central America.  So carefully preserved by sea sediment, the find was designated in mint state.  Life magazine called it “the greatest treasure ever found.  It yielded more numismatic treasures, including Type I Double Eagle coins, than all other known recoveries to date.  Recovered Again After a number of phone calls to Monaco’s attorney, we still weren’t able to immediately confirm if this was a hoax or for real.  When our attorney asked me if they had guns, I realized that while I was willing to verbally and legally fight against a wrongful seizure, I wasn’t willing to take a bullet.  Since the collection was fully insured, our attorney told me to “let them have it.” It isn’t worth a life, he instructed.  If they are for real, well fight to get it back.  And, if it is theft, we’re insured. As far as I was concerned, this was not a garnishment.  This was not an attachment.  We were being robbed!  This was, purely and simply, theft of private property.  Wrongful seizure to which Monaco wasn’t even a partyq The treasure recovered by Tommy Thompson and Columbus-America Discovery Group in the late 1980s had remained locked in vaults for more than a decade while ownership was resolved in Federal courts.  In December 1999, a Federal judge awarded the Columbus-America Discovery Group 92% of the find.  The remaining percentage was awarded to the insurers (or their successors) of the SS Central America.  Sotheby’s sold the insurer’s portion of the treasure in December 1999. To set the record straight, the items were wrongfully seized from the Monaco exhibit as security for damages in connection with a lawsuit filed against Columbus-America Discovery Group earlier in New York City by International Deep Survey, Inc., an underwater research company, and nine current and former employees of that firm, claiming they were still owed nearly $12 million by Columbus-America and others for sonar work performed two decades previously.  Columbus-America Discovery Group had previously removed the case to the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Ohio because a maritime contract is deemed a Federal and not a state question.  Additional proceedings have taken place in U.S. District Courts in New York and California, with the initial one located in the Eastern District of Virginia, where the SS Central America litigation has been continuing for nearly 20 years. After finding the Central America, the group brought an “in rem” proceeding in Admiralty Court seeking to establish ownership of, and the right to salvage, the ship and its cargo of gold and other artifacts.  Under salvage law, the original owners still retain their ownership interests in such property. It competes with the law of finders, which, in contrast, expresses the ancient and honorable principle of finders, keepers. Meanwhile, the sonar company claimed they received no remuneration and asked that the Court issue process for attachment and garnishment in the amount of $11,909,880 an erroneous sum concocted up from bad or no information and some verbal agreement involving two parties, some two decades ago.  Truly unbelievable! A clear win for all collectors that rightful ownership will always prevail It was clear to all of us Monaco that International Deep Sea Survey had absolutely no right to hold the private property that was seized as hostage for their claims against others.  After 20 years, for an attorney to exploit the courts in a manner where we, an innocent party, were unable to provide facts to thwart it, was absolutely outrageous. After waiting for what seemed to us an excessive amount of time to be heard by the court (especially since we had nothing to do with the original case) Monaco Rare Coin and its president, Michael Carabini, brought an action to vacate the attachment and seizure orders. On Carabini’s suggestion to end the “madness” immediately, lawyers for the Plaintiffs making legal claims against Tommy Thompson and The Columbus America Discovery Group agreed that none of the seized property was owned in any way by Thompson and the Discovery Group companies.  The key issue at hand resulted from one prerequisite of a Rule B attachment: “Is the asset owned by the debtor?” Monaco’s president stated aptly that, “Because the Plaintiff’s purported claims are against Colubus-America Discovery Group and not Monaco, the seizure was absolutely erroneous.  This is a win for all collectors who have doubts associated with government or third party seizures of their private wealth held in rare coins.  There is no question in my mind that the courts in the United States of America will uphold the rights of a bona fide purchaser for value, called a BFP, and that a BFP will ultimately prevail. In fact, Monaco’s president demanded that part of the court order, which was signed by Judge Jennifer T. Lum on October 25, 2006, stipulate that Plaintiffs and their counsel acknowledge that they “are hereby precluded from asserting any claims against any bona fide purchasers of artifacts or numismatics recovered from the SS Central America.” In order to speed up the return of the seized treasure to our customers and assist owners of any shipwreck treasure and numismatic items in general, Monaco agreed not to seek damages against the individual attorneys arising out of the attachment and seizure of property for malicious prosecution, abuse of process, wrongful seizure, wrongful attachment or Rule 11 sanctions. I am thrilled to report that the seized items were recovered from the court on October 27 when the same U.S. Marshal and the attorney for the sonar company returned the sealed storage containers to Monaco.  We appreciated receiving an apology from the Plaintiff’s lawyer as well, and it was no surprise that the attorney who orchestrated this ill-conceived seizure actually asked if it would be too much trouble to have his picture taken with these amazing historical gold artifacts. I had to smile as I sat and watched him glow as his picture was snapped. Unpacking the gold bars and the coin from the sealed containers was like greeting old friends.  How ironic that these historic treasures, recovered from the bottom of the sea in the 1980s, had to be “recovered” again in 2006!  But, they’re home now!  It’s like having my babies returned to me.  All the purloined items are now back with their rightful owners.  This is a victory for all collectors and clearly demonstrates that rightful property ownership will always prevail. 2006-11-10T22:10:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/price-records-shattered-at-ana-2006/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/price-records-shattered-at-ana-2006/#When:22:04:00Z Monaco Rare Coin Purchases 4th-Rarest Regular Issue U.S. Coin for $1,610,000 by Adam Crum Prices realized on true rarities shattered records at this year’s ANA World’s Fair of Money in Denver last month. Most notably, gold rarities set the pace, but anything truly rare—whether it was silver, copper, nickel or gold—was worthy of applause. Starting with the first auction, the pace for the event was set with a 1852 Humbert $10 in Specimen-67 crossing the block at $948,750 and shattering all previous records for any territorial coin. In fact, that would be the case all week long for western pioneer gold. Many of the items from this historical era that were auctioned should be mentioned, but I will limit it to just these few: The first seen since a hoard of tiny gold Moffat & Co ingots came to market 10 years ago or so, a Moffat ingot weighing less than an ounce with a face value of $16.00 surfaced during the week and sold before week’s end at $137,500. A damaged and tooled Humbert $50 Lettered Edge octagonal ingot with a net grade of high AU sold for $103,500, and another notable Humbert LE in XF sold for an impressive $94,875. To say the least, these octagonal ingots or slugs are red hot and have seen a 30% price increase over the last year . . . and I don’t think we’ve seen anything yet! For you 1850 Baldwin Horseman $10 lovers, this should raise an eyebrow: An AU50 sold for a record-setting $138,000. In addition, a rarely-seen 1849 Bowie $5 gold piece in AU50 brought an amazing $333,500 . . . and an 1861 Clark & Gruber $20 sold for an impressive $71,875. I have been saying for a couple of years now that this segment of the market should be pursued, and I continue to believe the pool of collectors of these rarities will expand ten-fold in the coming decade. Certainly, events of the past year suggest this to be the case, and I will continue to aggressively acquire interesting pieces for inventory. Another interesting and expanding area of the market is Colonial coins struck before 1792, the inaugural year of the first United States mint. Many of these coins, especially the rarest issues, sold for more than listed price levels in the Redbook, and these coins seem to have growing appeal with collectors and investors seeking undervalued areas. Considering many of these interesting early American coins are available for less than $5,000, or even $2,000 in some cases, it is easy to understand this growing demand. They truly are “history in your hands” pieces of our nation’s tumultuous birth! For those of you tracking the double eagle market . . . let me just say that the market was STRONG! Although, there were too many auctioned to list them all, here are a few notables: A MS64 1854-S from the SS Central America realized $46,000 . . . an AU50 1854-O realized $301,250 . . . an AU50 1856-O realized $345,000 . . . and finally, a GEM++ Proof 1861 $20 brought in a whopping $483,000! But real history was made when two regular issue $20 gold coins set world records: An inexplicable 1921 St. Gaudens in choice MS63 sold for a whopping $1,495,000. Why? How? I can’t explain it! However, I can explain this one: The fourth rarest issue of a United States coin, and a coin listed in Jeff Garrett’s “100 Greatest United States Coins” book is the 1861 Philadelphia “Paquet Reverse” Type I $20 gold coin. It set a world record for a regular business strike issue U.S. $20 gold coin when Monaco Rare Coin purchased it at the ANA auction for $1,610,000. I was offered $1.8 million before the night ended by another dealer who was present at the time of the sale. However, I passed on the offer in order to place the coin in the hands of a collector and client of Monaco. This coin is one of the most intriguing coins in our market and I was prepared to pay more. We plan on exhibiting this remarkable coin at FUN 2007 and in a number of other venues before “putting it away in the vault” for safekeeping. 2006-09-11T22:04:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/why-gold-why-now/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/why-gold-why-now/#When:21:58:00Z by Adam Crum As we approach the fifth anniversary of the World Trade Center attack, I am struck by the enduring significance of that appalling incident. While it was by no means the beginning of where the United States finds itself today, that tragic event has certainly moved us towards critical mass, with a far greater impact on our daily lives and the economy than many of us could have imagined five years, two years or even one year ago. We are now not only looking at a war on terror and wars in the Middle East; we are also now looking at the threat of a slowing U.S. economy. Six forces that fan the flames of war While it’s easy to view the conflicts in the Middle East simply as radical Muslim or anti-Western violence, in reality these conflicts are extremely complex, instigated by equally complex forces that have existed through the millennia. Force #1 Economic With few exceptions, most of the wealth in the Muslim world is controlled by a despotic few. The poor have little or no access to adequate housing, modern sanitation, health care or education. Force #2 Ethnic The Sunnis represent the majority throughout the Muslim world, and generally have the most wealth and power, while the poor and powerless tend to be among the minority sect, the Shiites. Force #3 Cultural. The privileged classes in the Muslim world are modern and westernized, while the masses are just the opposite. There is no place for the middle classes, who are generally forced to move out. Force #4 - Religious. Islamic fundamentalists clash with more moderate Muslims, and both clash with all other religious groups. Muslim fundamentalism is the means by which militants recruit. Force #5 - Historical. Many of the protagonists in the present conflicts support their case for revenge, martyrdom and annihilation by combining historical fact, religion, legend and myth. Force #6 - Military. Virtually all of the players in the present conflicts and those on the horizon possess stockpiles of dangerous weapons hidden in a variety of locations outside the control of any governmental authority. It now appears that these forces, forces that represent profound economic and cultural disparity and cultural, religious and ethnic hatred, are coming into frightening alignment. If ever there was a time that demanded serious investors ensure that their portfolios are properly diversified in order to hedge against what looks to be an extremely rocky economic future, this is it. Wars and rumors of wars Within three months after 9/11, the Taliban regime fell and many of us naively thought that was that. Five years later, the Afghan war is far from over and new wars have erupted with the prospect of many more to come. Afghanistan. Presently, while coalition and Afghan security forces fight both the Taliban and Al Qaida in Afghanistan’s bloodiest period of violence since the “fall” of the Taliban, NATO is assuming responsibility for the southern part of the country targeting not only the Taliban, but also the powerful warlords in the opium trade. For the record, the Soviets invaded and occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s with 500,000 troops, yet the Taliban won. What is absolutely disturbing is that the Soviet death toll of more than 15,000 far exceeds the total number of NATO troops deployed in Afghanistan today, a mere 9,000. Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki told Congress during a recent trip to the United States that if the U.S. loses in Iraq it would be an immense victory for terrorism. Ironically, even if the U.S. triumphs in Iraq, it could also be a victory for Iran. The fact is that the relationship between the U.S. and Shiite leaders in Iraq is very new and one of expediency, while Iran’s long-standing alliance with the Shiite leaders is based on common religious beliefs, suffering under Saddam Hussein’s regime, years of joint training exercises and more. Lebanon. The U.S. recently undertook the voluntary evacuation of some 14,000 Americans from Lebanon as fighting erupted between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel. At this point in time, it is unknown what will transpire between this well-financed, well-equipped terrorist organization capable of doing a good deal of damage, the country in which it is located and the country it wants to wipe off the face of the earth. Iran. Indirectly, Iran and the United States are already at war. Hezbollah’s sortie into Israel is essentially Iran’s way of attacking the West. Why? Hezbollah is a creation of Iran, which also provides the financing and the arms. The terrorist organization is essentially Iran’s front line, while the U.S. is the chief arms supplier and financial backer of Israel. Syria. With forces already on their highest state of alert, Syria’s information minister has just warned that if Israeli ground troops or planes approach its border, Syria will enter the conflict. Syrian rockets have been discovered among those fired into Israel, and Israel has called up 15,000 reservists to be dispatched to the Golan Heights. Concerned with Syria’s emerging alliance with Iran, the U.S. has charged that Syria is also a major backer of Hezbollah and involved in the Iraqi insurgency. Turkey and Kurdistan. Turkey has vowed to invade Iraq if an independent Kurdistan is created on its eastern border. Should Turkey actually fulfill its vow, it would be the first time two NATO nations the United States and Turkey would be on opposite sides. India and Pakistan. Since their independence from Britain after World War II, India and Pakistan have gone to war four times, most recently in 1999. The recent terrorist blasts in Mumbai (previously Bombay) have severely affected relations between the two nuclear powers. India has indirectly blamed Pakistan, while Pakistan blames domestic Indian terrorists. Extremists on both sides want to disrupt the peace process, possibly setting the stage for yet another war. Central Asia, North Africa and the rest of the Middle East. It’s not much of a stretch to imagine the present conflicts spreading to other neighboring Muslim nations. These nations include Chechnya, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan to the North, Saudi Arabia (a staunch supporter of the Sunnis in Iraq) and Yemen to the south and Jordan, located between Iraq and Israel. Various North African nations are candidates as well. The financial consequences in just one word . . . INFLATION The inevitable financial consequences of the escalating conflicts in the Middle East mean just one thing . . . INFLATION. ‘The disruption of critical commodities. Because the war-prone regions we’ve just discussed have the greatest reserves of the world’s oil and some of the planet’s largest deposits of natural gas, magnesium, tin, uranium, coal, iron, copper, zinc and gold, commodity prices will almost certainly be affected. In actual fact, the commodity price increases we’ve already experienced are enough to stimulate additional inflation. When you add the intense demand from the burgeoning economies of China and India, it’s a classic predictor of out-of-control inflation. An exploding national debt. Increasing at an average rate of $7.4 billion per day, the overall debt in the United States is now a whopping $41.7 trillion (at the moment anyway), $11.2 trillion of which the U.S. government is directly or indirectly responsible. There is only one way that Washington can keep this mountain of debt from crushing the U.S. economy and that’s with the printing presses running at full bore. This can only send inflation soaring. Inflation will continue to get worse. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues apparently need a history lesson. A similar scenario unfolded with Fed Chairman Arthur F. Burns in the early 1970s and again with Fed Chairman G. William Miller in the late 1970s. Both presided over massive increases in the money supply and sizable declines in the dollar. Both ignored the obvious signs of inflation until it was too late. In the early 1970s, the Reuters CRB Index (which represents a broad range of commodities), rose from 100 to roughly 200. The cause was an extreme upsurge in energy prices and the result was soaring inflation. In the late 1970s, commodity prices surged from 200 to just about 330. Once again, the cause was an extreme upsurge in energy prices and the result was soaring inflation. Now it’s happening again, but today it’s even worse. The Reuters CRB Index has more than doubled, from 186 at the end of October of 2001 to a recent 386. The primary cause once again is an extreme upsurge in energy prices. The likely result is yes soaring inflation! Regardless of what Washington tells us, inflation is NOT running at 3.5 to 4 percent, and that’s VERY apparent when you consider that: Since 2001, gasoline is up 49 percent; beef is up 28 percent; eggs, oranges and tomatoes are each up more than 30 percent. Property taxes all over the country are escalating. The cost of services has increased at an estimated 8 percent annually. The price of oil is up more than 500 percent since 2001! The cost of buying a home has more than doubled. Health care costs are out of sight. Meanwhile, the actual cost of living is skyrocketing in the double digits every year. That’s an important fact, because during the previous “officially recognized” inflationary crisis from 1974 to 1980, the average annual inflation rate was 8 percent. During that period, gold prices rose from $58 to more than $800 an ounce, a better than 1,000 percent increase. Today, true inflation is probably higher than 8 percent. But even if gold shot up only a quarter as much as it did in the 1970s, you’d be seeing the price of gold at more than $2,000 per ounce! The huge demand for gold It appears that the Middle East and surrounding regions are poised for expanding war. It is an environment in which gold is the ultimate hedge, as it has been through the centuries, and where demand will push prices higher and higher. China to take millions of ounces of gold off the market. With the largest in history at nearly $900 billion, China plans to put a minimum 2.5% of its trade surplus into gold. And, it will continue to invest ever-increasing amounts of its reserves in gold. China would have to buy 3,467 tons of gold in order to match just half of the gold reserves of the United States. That alone could send gold to $2,000 an ounce. Worldwide gold supplies dwindling! There are now less than 45,000 metric tons of proven gold reserves left in the ground worldwide. That’s according to the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the mining of gold has fallen almost 3 percent in just the past year, while the above ground supplies of gold can’t begin to satisfy the increasing demand. The bottom line? No matter how you look at it, a very compelling argument, using only fundamentals, can be made that we will see higher gold prices throughout the rest of 2006 and beyond. Whether it be semi-numismatic gold, like $20 St. Gaudens . . . or coins with historical significance, popularity and rarity, like earlier big gold coins . . . gold bullion and/or gold in one of its many other forms MUST be part of a truly diversified portfolio in these turbulent and uncertain times! 2006-08-10T21:58:00-08:00 http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/new-glitter-for-gold-ingots/ http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-news/article/new-glitter-for-gold-ingots/#When:21:55:00Z by Ed Reiter, CoinAge Magazine, August 2006 issue Gold! The word never fails to fire mankind’s imagination. Jewelry, artworks, medals, coins all of these gleam with special luster when the metal used to make them is gold. Soon, a new spotlight will illuminate one of the most fascinating but least explored incarnations of gold one with particular significance for numismatists. A major book now nearing publication will examine the origin, history, lore and market value of monetary ingots the multi-sized chunks of refined precious metal that transformed miners raw gold ore into a form they could readily sell or spend. The book is a collaborative effort by two of the most knowledgeable experts in the field: Adam Crum, vice president of Monaco Financial, LLC of Newport Beach, California, one of the nation’s largest dealers in rare coins and precious metals, and Fred Holabird, owner of Holabird Americana, an auction company in Reno, Nevada, that specializes in Western collectibles. Collectors will get a preview of what the book covers and an opportunity to meet the co-authors at the 2006 World’s Fair of Money, the annual midsummer convention of the American Numismatic Association, Aug. 16-20 in Denver. Monaco has put together a stunning multimillion-dollar exhibit containing a variety of dazzling gold bars and ingots, as well as rare coins from the days of the California Gold Rush and the mining era that followed elsewhere in the West. Many will be treasures recovered from the wreckage of the SS Central America, a find that is widely credited with stirring broad new interest in Gold Rush-era ingots. Others will be pieces made in Colorado during the second half of the 19th century reminders that Old West gold and silver mining flourished well beyond California during that eventful, exciting period. The latter will also pay homage to this year’s convention locale. Assay offices had a huge impact on the development of the American West, Crum declared. The bars, ingots and coins they produced were vital to the economy, so they really have tremendous historical importance. This book will delve into that rich history show what these ingots are and what they represented. And unlike anything previously written on the subject, it also will provide detailed pricing information, based on auction results, private-treaty sales and dealer-to-dealer transactions. That’s the kind of tool potential buyers really don’t have right now. There’s not a lot of transparency today as to what these ingots are worth and what they’ve been traded for in the marketplace. This book will provide transparency and that will help expand the collecting base of these items. The California Gold Rush was not America’s first; decades earlier, prospectors had flocked to the Carolinas and Georgia when gold was discovered there. But while gold coins were minted privately in the Southeast notably by Christian Bechtler and Templeton Reid ingots are thought to have made their first appearance in California. There are ingots purported to be earlier, Crum said, but all credible ingots are traced to 1849 and later. There are none that I’m aware of from the Carolinas and Georgia. Ingots came into being simply because the sheer quantity of gold in California was so huge. Concentrating the gold in this form made it easier to transport and use in commerce. Banks said if ingots were created in this form, they could literally be traded as money. If you brought them in, you could get money for them. Miners would take their gold dust, nuggets and other raw metal to a refiner, who, for a modest fee, would melt and assay it and cast it into ingots. Typically, these would be stamped with the name of the refiner, the weight and fineness of the gold and the monetary value of the metal (at the then-official rate of $20.67 per pure troy ounce). Ingots from trusted refiners such as Blake & Co., Justh & Hunter and Kellogg & Humbert were readily accepted at this stated value by banks and merchants, giving the miners a much-needed means to transact business conveniently. A high degree of trust developed between banks and respected assayers, Crum said. If Kellogg & Humbert produced an ingot and stamped it with a value of $1,029.62, banks had confidence that it contained gold worth $1,029.62. If you were a miner, you could take an ingot to the bank and store it as money or you could just take it to the mint and trade it for coinage. Then the mint would destroy it and make more coins with it. Most of the Old West ingots have long since been melted, releasing their gold for other uses, because they were viewed as utilitarian objects, not collectibles, and preserving them would have tied up too much money. As a result, relatively few remain today Crum puts the number of known survivors at barely a thousand and these can command substantial premiums. Surviving gold ingots range in size from less than an ounce to hundreds of ounces (silver ingots sometimes weigh thousands of ounces apiece), and their weight plays a part in determining their value as collectibles. According to Holabird, though, the most important factor is natural competition. Collectors, he said, are guided by whether an ingot is gold or silver, by its age, by the geographic region where the piece was made and demand for pieces from that region, and finally by personal taste. A collector may want a certain kind of ingot and not others, since there are different kinds of ingots assayer ingots, exhibition ingots, presentation ingots and mint ingots. Some people collect all categories and some only collect single categories. You might consider it somewhat similar to collecting quarters versus dimes versus Morgan dollars. Condition matters, too though not nearly to the extent that higher grades enhance the value of collectible coins. A good, well-marked piece that’s clean will probably bring more than a lightly punched piece, Holabird said. But most of the older ingots are unique unto themselves, so condition has much less bearing. Wide variations in ingots size, weight and fineness were especially pronounced in the early days of the California Gold Rush. That changed with the coming of the U.S. Assay Office in 1851, followed three years later by the San Francisco Mint. The government set standards that refiners had to meet in order to be recognized, Holabird said. Up to then, there had been multiple systems for weight and fineness, but the government did away with pennyweights and karats and grains in favor of a standard system using troy ounces, with fineness reported in thousandths. The new standards also involved weight. The government didn’t want ingots weighing thousands of ounces that might require two or more people to lift, so it started putting restrictions on the size. That’s why the later ingots are much more uniform in size generally in increments of 25 ounces although they still retained a degree of individuality. The changes didn’t happen overnight. It took a few years but they did happen. Interest in Gold Rush-era ingots has existed for many years, and some hobbyists have collected them along with private gold coins and other artifacts from that era. They’ve been much more highly publicized and more ardently sought, however, since the discovery and salvage of the SS Central America and the subsequent dispersal of the treasures from this fabled Ship of Gold. More than 500 gold ingots were recovered from the Central America, roughly doubling the number known to survive from the California Gold Rush. The largest, now known as the Eureka bar, weighs more than 933 ounces (or about 80 pounds) and is stamped with an 1857 monetary value of $17,433.57. This magnificent specimen was sold privately for $8 million a record price for any ingot. Indeed, it might be argued that this is a record for any single numismatic item, since the highest price known to have been paid for a single coin is just $7.59 million the amount that was achieved at a 2002 Sotheby’s/Stack’s auction by the 1933 Saint-Gaudens double eagle ($20 gold piece). A number of other Central America ingots brought strong six-figure prices at a 1999 Sotheby’s auction, attesting in a very tangible way to the new excitement the ship and its gold have kindled. I personally believe that the Central America is the most significant thing ever to happen not just to the market for ingots but to the coin market as a whole, Crum exclaimed. I can produce the names of half a dozen people who have spent over $40 million altogether on United States rare coins that didn’t own a coin before they purchased something from the Central America.  I could produce another 100 names that have brought in over $100 million that did not own a coin prior to the Central America. That’s a tremendous impact. Beyond increasing the known population so dramatically, the Central America ingots also provide a benchmark for helping determine the authenticity of other ingots claimed to be from that period. This has been a controversial area since the 1990s, when skeptics charged that many ingots sold since 1950 have been frauds and actually were made much more recently. All other ingots are going to be held up now against the Central America ingots, Crum remarked. How do they stand up to that test?  We know those are real and where they came from and that we can trace an absolute pedigree to them. There are really no other ingots that we can do that with. Holabird, a geologist by training, has been deeply involved in scientific research that may help provide further evidence of whether given ingots are genuine and the book will include a detailed report on this promising new development. With the help of advanced technology, he said, we’ve been able to discern differences on an atomic level between metals from specific ore deposits. The gold from California is different from gold that was mined in Colorado. What’s more, the gold from one part of California isn’t the same as gold from another part. They have different atomic signatures. Someday we should be able to tell you, using non-destructive technology, whether a specific planchet from a rare Dahlonega gold coin is real or not because we’ll be able to look at the content of that coin on an atomic level and see whether it matches the planchets known to be genuine. Likewise, we’ll be able to check the atomic signature of the metal in an ingot and see how it compares with gold from the original source. This is technology that didn’t exist 10 years ago, and it’s still a long way from being perfected. But we’ve come a long way already and with time and funding, I’m confident we’ll reach our objectives. It’s extremely important science, and it’s a significant element of the book. There are bad ingots out there, just like there are bad coins, and we’ve got to find a way to definitively understand in a scientific manner what we’re dealing with so that we take the guesswork out of it. Holabird and Crum were brought together last year by Bob Evans, a key member of the Columbus-America Discovery Group, the team that found and salvaged the Central America. Evans, who is also a geologist, met Holabird under somewhat adversarial circumstances at legal proceedings aimed at determining ownership of the salvaged treasure. Holabird was an expert witness for another claimant. The two men’s common interests soon overcame any initial strain. Evans met Crum when the treasure came up for sale. Crum’s company, Monaco Financial, a member of the Monex family of companies, was a major buyer of the Central America gold. Evans is excited about the book, tentatively titled Gold Ingots of the Wild West.  I think it will create new enthusiasm for the subject, he said, because these are really, really it’s almost a trite adjective neat pieces. They’re about as historical as an artifact can be, since they are literally the precious metal that was mined from ore bodies and then melted down and hand-stamped. What a fantastic connection! I think it will also tend to clear up some of the mud that surrounds the subject so that people will feel safer in collecting this kind of material. There have been some good articles about Western ingots and some really fine little historical pieces. But there hasn’t been a central repository of that knowledge.  A lot of people feel a real connection with the history of their coins and their other numismatic objects, and knowing more about the history of these ingots and knowing more about the people who produced them and knowing the systems that were used to mark them I think that will give people greater confidence in collecting this material. Orders for the book will be taken at the Denver convention. It’s expected to be available soon afterward. 2006-07-05T21:55:00-08:00