One of my all-time favorite gold issue is the rare 1849 Pattern gold dollar (Judd-115) which is the only US coin which was entirely engraved by hand at the Mint. DWN purchased the highest graded of just four known in gold at the 2024 Heritage FUN sale for $105,000. J-115 1849 "Handmade" Gold Dollar in PCGS MS62 CAC I first learned about this issue when I read the NERCG 1979 auction catalog which contained this exact coin. I finally got to see them live when two different examples were sold in the Stack’s 7/2008 auction. What makes J-115 so remarkable is that James Longacre, the Mint Engraver ..read more

an 1859-O $20.00 in AU53 from the Fairmont Collection, sold later by DWN a guest blog by Richard Radick Introduction About two months ago, after reading a draft for one of my blog pieces, Doug suggested: “How about writing one on which Type 1 $20s were most heavily Fairmonted?” - something I had not thought much about. “Fairmonted”? Doug coined the term (I couldn’t resist…) a few years ago to describe what happened to gold coin prices in response to the seemingly never-ending flood of new supply from the Fairmont hoard. In particular, he argued that prices for some of the Type 1 $20s and, a ..read more

1882-S $20.00 PCGS MS62+ CAC, ex Fairmont a guest blog by Richard Radick Introduction: Why it takes time (a lot of it!) to grade 400,000 gold coins. In the first piece in this series, I distinguished three categories of coins in the Fairmont hoard: (1) the pedigreed Fairmonts, (2) the non-pedigreed Fairmonts, and (3) the ungraded Fairmonts. I defined the “ungraded Fairmonts” as coins from the Fairmont hoard that have either not been submitted to PCGS for grading, yet, or have been deemed not worth the time and expense of grading. This three-part classification reflects a gradation in my kno ..read more

If you are a serious collector of vintage United States gold coins, you no doubt have a specific year (or—more likely—years!) which you find fascinating. This may be due to its being a transitional year in which two different types were made (1834,1866, and 1907) or it may be due to its representing the first year of issue for a design type (1838, 1840, and 1877). Other collectors are attracted to a specific year due to the rarity of the coins (1873 and 1875). I have been a keen student of US gold coins struck in the decade between 1834 and 1844 for many years. This was a period of experimenta ..read more

a guest blog by Richard Radick Introduction: How I came to know and love the non-pedigreed Fairmonts By August, 2020, when the first sale of Fairmont half eagles occurred, it had been apparent for some time that the coins of the “Fairmont Collection” were coming from a hoard, and a very large one, at that. Doug, for instance, had been saying this for a year or more. A hoard is not a numismatic collection, in the usual sense of the word. The purpose of a hoard is to store wealth, and, often, to conceal it. While a numismatic collection may also serve this purpose, it is not the primary one. M ..read more

As 2023 comes to an end, Douglas Winter Numismatics is taking some time to reflect on what was a great year for us, and a year which I’d rate as a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10 for the rare date gold market. It was a bit slower this year than the virtually unsustainable pace of the Covid-driven market of 2021-2022, but it was still a very good year overall  (How good were 2021 and 2022? So good that I never had time to write What’s Hot/What’s Not articles for either year!). FOUR AREAS WHICH WERE HOT IN 2024 1.  Trash Twenties In Late November 2019, the PCGS Price Guide valued the 1891-S $2 ..read more

Introduction Hello. My name is Richard Radick, and I am writing as a guest blogger on Doug’s site. Those of you who have read the recently-published fourth edition of his book “Gold Coins of the Dahlonega Mint” already know a bit about me, because I wrote an introductory chapter for that book. For those of you who have not yet read Doug’s book, it’s time to buy a copy - it’s a remarkable work of numismatic scholarship. (Full disclosure - I have no financial stake in the book sales, and I bought my copy just like everyone else). I first became aware of the Fairmont Collection in 2020, when I ha ..read more

If you collect Liberty Head double eagles, you are well-aware of the complexities which make this series such a joy to collect. The 44 issues which make up the Type One series are particularly difficult to collect for a variety of reasons including—but not limited to—the following: High acquisition price due to high-grade rarity. Shipwrecks and hoards which impact rarity Price swings which are related to spot gold prices increasing Relative rarity of virtually every issue in Uncirculated Peculiarities of strike and appearance which makes buying a challenge for the under-informed Th ..read more

Stack’s Bowers held the most recent (fifth? sixth?) installment of the seemingly limitless run of US gold coins which is the Fairmont Hoard on November 15th, 2023. As with the last sale (August 2023 and held during the ANA convention to my endless chagrin), prices were mixed with some coins selling for very strong numbers and others coins selling at discounts in relation to their most recent auction comparable sale and/or the current PCGS Price Guide information. Here are five random observations about the rare date gold market which are based on prices realized at the auction, as well as my p ..read more

Yes I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t a “non-specialized” set of a specialized area such as New Orleans gold a contradiction? While it is, in theory, a contradiction, I believe that a generalist version of a specialized collection actually makes sense in 2023; a year in which many formerly affordable gold coins from the three Southern mints became less affordable for the collector of average means. I’ve come up with two collections which I think would be challenging but a lot of fun to assemble. Both consist of 10 coins, and there is some overlapping. Each set features coins which I feel are ..read more