Collectors Dashboard is updating the sales of California Gold Rush coins from the October 20, 2021 California Fractional Gold US Coins showcase auction by Heritage Auctions. The sales were from a collection of 74 rare historic California Gold Rush coins that were up for sale — known as California Fractional Gold. The 5 coins from this sale that we chose to feature became the top 5 realized prices for the auction.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class. This means collectibles are attracting the same capital that could have been invested into stocks or bonds. Many collectibles now cost thousands of dollars (or much more), and these rare coins from the California Gold Rush era would certainly fit in that narrative. Collectors with a passion to own a collectible for years frequently have to compete directly against investors whose only desire is to make a profit in the future.

There have been many record sales prices for certain historical coins in 2021. It was hard to predict how this would turn out, in part because these are relatively scarce, they are completely unknown to some collectors, and they just don’t come up for auction every day. That said, these coins come with historic significance and the prices seem more than reasonable based upon other numismatic sales that have been seen this year.

Here are the top 5 final realized prices:

• 1856 50C Liberty Octagonal 50 Cents PCGS MS64 with a current bid of $4,021.00 after 9 bids at the time…. and sold for $4,825.20 including buyers premium after 9 total bids.
• 1870 $1 Liberty Round 1 Dollar PCGS MS62 “prooflike” with a current bid of $2,703.00 after 10 bids at the time…. and sold for $3,243.60 including buyers premium after 10 total bids.
• 1852 50C Indian Round 50 Cents NGC MS66 “prooflike” with a current bid of $2,600.00 after 19 bids at the time…. and sold for $3,360.00 including buyers premium after 20 total bids.
• 1853 50C Liberty Round 50 Cents MS66 NGC with a current bid of $2,500.00 after 17 bids at the time…. and sold for $3,120.00 including buyers premium after 18 total bids.
• 1868 25C Liberty Head Octagonal 25 Cents NGC MS64+ “prooflike” with a current bid of $2,413.00 after 7 bids at the time…. and sold for $2,895.60 including buyer’s premium after 7 total bids.

(Image above provided by Heritage Auctions)

The California Gold Rush captures the imagination of many collectors. Many of the coins are unique or have very low populations in their respective denominations. Collectors Dashboard tracked the top five sales of these coins in the Heritage Auction. Gold coins are cool, gold coins made illegally by necessity of California gold prospectors in the 1800s are much cooler.