5 Rare Coins That Sold for At Least $600,000
If you want to invest in the world’s most valuable coins, you’d better be ready to pony up some serious cash. The priciest coins fetch millions of dollars at auction, and even less expensive specimens sell for hundreds of thousands. Last year alone, one California auctioneer and dealer sold five rare coins for $600,000 or higher.
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That dealer, Costa Mesa-based Stack’s Bowers Galleries, conducts live, internet and specialized auctions of rare U.S. and world coins and currency as well as direct sales through retail and wholesale channels. It recently released its list of the top five rare coin sales of 2023, which was shared in an email to GOBankingRates.
The list included two coins from China and three from the United States. Stack’s Bowers referred to the list as “awe-inspiring for numismatic hobbyists and non-hobbyists alike.”
Here are the top five coins, ranked in order of the sale price, with descriptions from Stack’s Bowers:
Silver “Reversed Dragon” Dollar Pattern, Year 3 (1911): This extremely rare Chinese reversed dragon dollar sold for $1.38 million. It was issued during the final year of the centuries-long Qing Dynasty and differed slightly from the popular adopted design.
1870-CC Liberty Head Eagle: This “well-known and eagerly sought rarity” sold for $1.08 million. Stack’s Bowers called the $10 gold piece the “sole finest example” of the issue. Only about 60 are still around in all grades.
1855 Kellogg & Company $50 Gold Piece: Known as the “King of Territorial Gold,” this coin sold for $780,000. It is considered one of the “rarest and most coveted” of all private California Gold Rush issues.
1815 Capped Head Left Half Eagle (uncirculated): This coin, which sold for $720,000, is one of only six known specimens in private hands and is considered the “second-finest certified example in existence.”
Chinese Gold Dollar Pattern, Year 12 (1923): This “iconic Chinese rarity” sold for $600,000 — which was $200,000 more than its high estimate. In an online description of the coin, Stack’s Bowers said its “strike is sharp and robust, with an enticing and rich golden-yellow nature to the coloring.”
According to the American Numismatic Association, many factors influence a coin’s value. Rarity is the primary one, as the Stack’s Bowers auctions demonstrate. Popularity, condition, strike characters and special designations also affect prices.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 5 Rare Coins That Sold for At Least $600,000
