Rare gold coins are seeing record demand. Record sale prices are being routinely broken at auction because of this demand. All that glitters is gold is the old expression but Auction houses like Legend are reaping the reward — as are those who have invested in trophy coins over the years!. Trophy coins are ones that are the highest graded example or the only known to exist.

Legend Auction highlighted a gold coin when it became the highest price paid in auction for a 1907 Rolled Edge $10 Gold Eagle PCGS MS65+ CAC. The coin realized $587,500.00 on January 28th in their 50th Regency Auction. Everything about this type of coin needs to be analyzed as an investment rather than just a collector’s view if you look at the observations below. (Image from Legend Auctions)

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). 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.

A 1907 Rolled Edge Eagle coin sold by Legend Auctions on January 28, 2022 was a record sale in that condition, however higher graded examples and lower graded examples for the coin exist. That said, this looks like a record sale for any graded example outside of private transactions or still-private examples that haven’t come to market in decades.

Let’s look into other sales and the population of that grade that sold, as well as higher value higher grade examples. Heritage Auctions as well as PCGS have compiled much data about this type of gold coin. According to the PCGS population only one example of an MS65+ condition exists. This is the example that just sold through Legend Auction for $587,500.00. There are 17 MS65 examples that exist within an entire 1907 $10 Rolled Edge population of just 40 to 42 coins according to PCGS.

Here are recent sales for examples of the coin:

• 1907 $10 Rolled Rim MS65 NGC sold by Heritage Auctions on January 4, 2007 for $195,500.00 after 8 bids.
• 1907 $10 Rolled Rim MS65 PCGS sold by Heritage Auctions on January 21, 2021 for $264,000.00 after 21 bids.
• 1907 $10 Rolled Rim MS65 PCGS sold by Heritage Auctions on June 4, 2020 for $240,000.00 after 19 bids.

Only three examples have graded MS67 and only one stands at MS67+, which is the ultimate trophy coin for the type. Here are grades above and below the one MS65+ that sold at the Legend Auction:

• 1907 $10 Rolled Edge MS67 PCGS sold by Heritage Auctions on January 10, 2008 for $460,000.00 after 12 bids.
• 1907 $10 Rolled Rim MS67 PCGS sold by Heritage Auctions on January 4, 2007 for $402,500.00 after 12 bids.
• 1907 $10 Rolled Rim MS66+ NGC CAC sold by Heritage Auctions on August 10, 2016 for $346,625.00 after 12 bids.
• 1907 $10 Rolled Rim MS64+ PCGS CAC sold by Heritage Auctions on August 14, 2019 for $240,000.00 after 16 bids.

According to Legend Rare Coin Auctions (LCRA), which sold the coin, they had something to say about the current state of the market where it sold.

Julie Abrams, president of Legend Auctions, said:

From the moment the auction began previews on our website, the highlight coins brought a record number of page views, and as soon as the auction opened for pre-bidding, we could tell the action would be intense. The attendance in person at the sale showed that collectors are back to attending shows and auctions again, and the in person bidding was as strong as any Regency Auction prior to the pandemic.

Laura Sperber of Legend said:

From the market perspective, there are so few great coins to be found out there, that when they appear at auction, the action is very fierce, and when your auction sales are curated to only include high quality, important rare coins, like our Regency Auctions, the results are event stronger.

Collectors Dashboard has always championed the importance of trophy coins to the collectibles marketplace. What is most significant about Legends record sale at auction is that the example sold was a PCGS population of 1 MS65+ example. The interest is not that it’s the highest grade but instead because it’s the only one. Out there exists an MS67+ and how exciting for all the grades below it when it finds a public auction to achieve what we all dream it will.