Quarterly Review: DATED GOLD REMAINS STABLE BULWARK IN THE MARKET

BY JOHN FEIGENBAUM, PUBLISHER & PATRICK IAN PEREZ, EDITOR

As we round out the end of the first fiscal quarter of 2017, the Quarterly III edition of our Supplemental newsletter updates our readers on pricing of U.S. denominated gold from $4 (Stellas) to the Liberty $20 double eagles. An examination of 90-day gold spot price since our last QIII edition reveals that levels are nearly the same since the December issue, although gold was down as low as $1,128 in mid-December, only to coming roaring right back in January. It’s nice to see a buoyancy above the $1,200 mark, which is giving dealers added confidence that levels are stable here for a change.

Dated gold prices that we cover in the Quarterly III have proven to be among the most reliable across the marketplace. Readers will recall that the December issue posted strong gains in no motto $10 Liberty issues thanks to strong auction sales. We heard feedback on both sides regarding these changes, but frankly, these coins, and similar ones (like no motto Tens and type one double eagles) are strong sellers in dealer inventories. High end coins are moving quickly with multiple ready buyers. One recent highlight was the recent sale at Goldberg Auctions of the rare 1854-O $20. Graded NGC AU53, the coin sold for $305,500 against a CDN bid of $295,000 in AU50, so the bid remains unchanged in this edition. As we round out the end of the first fiscal quarter of 2017, the Quarterly III edition of our Supplemental newsletter updates our readers on pricing of U.S. denominated gold from $4 (Stellas) to the Liberty $20 double eagles. An examination of 90-day gold spot price since our last QIII edition reveals that levels are nearly the same since the December issue, although gold was down as low as $1,128 in mid-December, only to coming roaring right back in January. It’s nice to see a buoyancy above the $1,200 mark, which is giving dealers added confidence that levels are stable here for a change.

NEW DESIGNATION DESIGNATED FOR AN OLD VARIETY: 1818 $5 50/5D DETERMINED TO BE 5I/50 INSTEAD

Thanks to some astute cataloging by John Sculley at Heritage Auctions, the 1818 half eagle variety previously known as the “50/5D” (BD-3) has been determined to actually be the letter I over the numeral 0. Once you see the variety in this new light, the proper (new) designation is crystal clear and has also been agreed as such by a consortium of numismatic experts including: Ken Bressett (Whitman Publishing), David W. Lange (NGC), Scott Schechter (NGC), Mark Borckhardt (Heritage) and the editors here at CDN Publishing. It’s not often than we come across a major variety re-identification of this nature and it’s fun to see this coin in a new light.