Fairmont Collection of Liberty Double Eagles
BloodMan
Posts: 1,833 ✭✭✭✭✭
Stack’s-Bowers will be offering the Fairmont Collection of Liberty Head Double Eagles on June 21st as part of the 2018 Baltimore auction. In the auction catalog it was described as one of the finest collections ever formed. The Fairmont Collection was recently entered into the PCGS Registry and is currently the second finest in the category “Liberty Head $20 Gold with Major Varieties, Circulation Strikes (1850-1907)”, second to the DL Hansen set, formerly AWA collection.
In the catalog there is little information on the background of the collection. Typically, big name sets have a significant amount of information on the consigner, when the set was assembled, who helped assemble the collection and what the goals were when assembling the collection. This type of information was provided in great detail for the Gilded Age collection of mint state double eagles sold by Stack’s-Bowers several years ago.
Does anyone have any information on the Fairmont Collection that can be shared?
Overall, the set looks fresh. There are very few coins that I have seen previously offered. Could this be an old-time raw set that was recently slabbed? Overall, the coins in the set look original, with a few exceptions.
There are 148 coins offered in the Fairmont Collection. Looking at the Type 1 Double Eagles, the CAC approval rate is almost 50%, which is pretty high for a set assembled in the years prior to CAC.
By my count there are only ten coins missing, all of which are rarities or ultra-rarities (1854-O, 1855-O, 1856-O, 1860-O, 1861-O, 1870-CC, 1881, 1882, 1885, 1891). The 1868 $20 PCGS MS61 is listed in the catalog but not available online.
By my estimation, the top coins in the Fairmont Collection are:
1854 $20 Large Date PCGS MS61 CAC
1857-O $20 PCGS MS60
1858-O $20 PCGS AU55
1859-O $20 PCGS AU53
1861-S $20 Paquet PCGS AU53 CAC (Highlight on the collection)
1862 $20 PCGS AU50 CAC
1863 $20 PCGS MS60
1866-S $20 No Motto. PCGS XF45 CAC
1866-S $20. Motto. PCGS MS61
1868-S $20 PCGS MS62
1871-CC $20 PCGS XF45
1872-CC $20 PCGS AU55 CAC
1873-CC $20 PCGS AU58 CAC
1879-O $20 PCGS XF45
1885-CC $20 PCGS AU58 CAC
1891-CC $20 PCGS AU55
1892 $20 PCGS MS60
Does anyone have any information on the Fairmont Collection that can be shared? I realize that some consigners like to remain anonymous, and this might be the case. Just curious about this interesting collection.
Any comments on the collection in general are welcome.
Comments
The reserves have been posted for the June 21 auction.
For the Fairmont Collection, it looks like most of the coins are unreserved or the reserves have been met, except for the 1857-O $20 PCGS MS60 which has a reserve of $27,000.
Interesting !!!
Gold coin collections are amazing.... love to see them all together... Such a shame when they are split up, however, that is the usual course of events. Cheers, RickO
there's a lot of nice double eagles. i plan to be bidding on them...i don't expect to win anything, but you never know!
RE:
Looking at the Type 1 Double Eagles, the CAC approval rate is almost 50%, which is pretty high for a set assembled in the years prior to CAC.
Not really...if one knows, and buys quality, most will CAC. A 50% rate is only so-so. I don't maintain that individual non-CAC pieces should be rejected, just that a 50% rate is nothing to get excited about.
Now that 2 days of lot viewing have passed, does anyone have any information or insights on the Fairmont Collection? Any specific coins that are noteworthy? I can’t make it to Baltimore, so I am interested in any opinions.
Yesterday the Fairmont Collection of Liberty Head Double Eagles was sold, did anyone pick-up any double eagles?
Based on the prices realized, the collection did well. There were several coins that brought very strong money for the grade. These include:
1850-O $20 PCGS AU53 realized $19200
1853-O $20 PCGS XF45 CAC realized $11400
1854-S $20 PCGS AU55 realized $19200
1859-O $20 PCGS AU53 realized $66000
1861-S $20 Paquet PCGS AU53 CAC realized $96000
1862 $20 PCGS AU50 CAC realized $20400
1871-CC $20 PCGS XG45 realized $48000
1872-CC $20 PCGS AU55 CAC realized $33600
1879-O $20 PCGS XF45 realized $57600
There were a few that I thought sold for lower than expected prices, eg, 1871 $20 PCGS AU58+ for $5040 and 1890-S $20 PCGS MS63 for $2880.
Any other observations on the sale?
I purchased the 1862-S Liberty Head Double Eagle. MS-60 (PCGS).
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. - CS Lewis
Nice buy.
Neat way to say "Hello".
Welcome.
What did you pay?
Don't leave us hanging!!!
bob
Fair enough y’all. I paid $12,000 before BP and shipping. Out the door it was $14,434 which considering prior auctions of similar coins isn’t too bad. This puppy is my biggest coin purchase to date.
Thank you gents and ladies for welcoming me to the forum. I look forward to hearing from you and keeping in couch!
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. - CS Lewis
Always like to hear about a coin purchase. Congrats!
Thank you very much! I’m a huge American revolutionary war and Civil War buff.
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. - CS Lewis
Thank you very much! I’m a huge American revolutionary war and Civil War buff.
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. - CS Lewis
Thank you very much! I’m a huge American revolutionary war and Civil War buff.
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. - CS Lewis
Congrats and Welcome! Glad seeing new member NOT asking for possible DD on Lincoln cents
Thank you very much! I’m a huge American revolutionary war and Civil War buff.
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. - CS Lewis
Thank you @Paradisefound and I definitely wouldn’t want to ruin my welcome
. Anyone else into Double Eagles?
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. - CS Lewis
I just might get it CACd, we’ll see. I’ll definitely post a pic once it gets in.
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. - CS Lewis
Nice coin; what was going on in the San Francisco area during the civil war?
I bought and later resold the Eagle collection 1862 $20: https://coins.ha.com/itm/liberty-double-eagles/double-eagles/1862-20-au58-ngc-many-1862-double-eagles-were-exported-because-of-the-uncertainties-of-the-civil-war-and-later-melted-a/a/280-4034.s?ic4=ListView-Thumbnail-071515
SF was primarily responsible for sending its gold out east (post gold rush too).
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. - CS Lewis
Was there a $20 1855 o in the auction? Its tougher than the 59 O or 61 O. A nice example is very difficult to find.
Yes cool buy and welcome to the board.
Hoard the keys.
Congrats, and welcome to the forum.
Successful Trades: Swampboy,
@Matt91 Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your 1862-S $20 PCGS MS60. It looks much nicer than a typical MS60 double eagle. Even considering all of the potential re-submissions, there are only 24 finer. Obviously a tough coin in MS.
@logger7 The 1862 $20 from the Eagle collection was a great buy. The price for this underappreciated date shot up dramatically after 2002.
i really wanted that one. i just couldn't go higher even though i think it was a good buy to hold.
@oldgoldlover There was not an 1855-O twenty in the Fairmont collection, but there were 1879-O and 1859-O examples that did very well.
I also bought the 1868 Philly in that auction, very nice coin. I later sold it to Bogus, before all his legal trouble, who is now serving a lengthy prison sentence.
@logger7 The 1868 $20 was another shrewd purchase and clearly undervalued in hindsight.
Probably with the notoriety of Mr. Bogus, the coins now reside in other holders, non-Eagle collection, and many were probably cac.
@Matt91 Welcome to the boards and a big congratulations on your 1862-S $20 gold purchase.
Donato
Donato's Complete US Type Set ---- Donato's Dansco 7070 Modified Type Set ---- Donato's Basic U.S. Coin Design Set
Successful transactions: Shrub68 (Jim), MWallace (Mike)
On common issues where one can easily chose between nice coins and bad coins.
There simply aren’t that many Cac able type one double eagles or many of the key dates or branch mints. One could grow quite old waiting for CAC quality and never complete the set.
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
I sincerely appreciate your warm welcomes into the forum. The 1862 is the last of my Civil War Double Eagle collection and will post pictures of the set I’ve assembled once it’s in my possession. What’s the most expensive coin you’ve collected?
V/r
Matt
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. - CS Lewis
I might resubmit it for a higher grade since the MS60 is boarder line between AU/MS.
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. - CS Lewis
My Fairmont coin is here!!!
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. - CS Lewis
Great pick up
@Matt91.... I like it a lot!!!!
Please share your next one
@Matt91 I like your '62-S double eagle. Definitely a tough date in mint state. Along with the '61-S, this date has historical had a higher price tag compared with the earlier and later type 1 S-mint double eagles that were more commonly found in ship wrecks.
@BloodMan thank you very much! It’s a very tough date especially in higher grades. What Double Eages do you collect or what are your collecting preferences? The rest of the SSCA coins have come to market and I’m waiting to see how they fair. I’m a stucker for California gold too. I’ve also started a thread under US coins (https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1002843/my-current-coin-acquisitions#latest) with my current acquisitions.
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. - CS Lewis
I like Liberty double eagles of all three types, but I am very picky and look for examples with strong eye appeal, original surfaces and minimal contact marks. I also like double eagles with prooflike surfaces. These look better “in-hand” as the reflective surfaces tend to exaggerate even minor surface abrasions. Truly prooflike double eagles are hard to find and represent less than 1% of the certified population at NGC. PCGS has only designed gold coins as prooflike from the SSCA finds.
Great thread....just started doing work on Liberty Double Eagles -- reading, research, no buying (yet !
) -- and was wondering if any Liberty Head Double Eagle fans have any good books or websites to recommend.
I just purchased QDB's Liberty Head Double Eagles -- The Gilded Age of Coinage. It's a very good book but it is NOT really a year-by-year analysis of LH DEs.
i would love to add a fairmont double eagle to my collection. i tried getting at 57-O late last year, but due to strange circumstances my bid did not work out.
Fairmont is the five year gift that keeps on giving with no end in sight.
Doug Winter has one of the best Double Eagle resources out there (for Type 1 DE's)
https://www.doubleeaglebook.com/
Or this for his write up on Type 3.
https://raregoldcoins.com/blog/articles/how-to-collect-type-three-double-eagles?rq=Double Eagles
Check out his site, I am sure you can find other things as well.
Successful BST with BustDMs , Pnies20, lkeigwin, pursuitofliberty, Bullsitter, felinfoel, SPalladino (CBH's - 37 Die Marriage's)
$5 Type Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/type-sets/half-eagle-type-set-circulation-strikes-1795-1929/album/344192
CBH Set https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/everyman-collections/everyman-half-dollars/everyman-capped-bust-half-dollars-1807-1839/album/345572
Thanks PCGSCAC.....I saw those books, they're on my TO BUY list (either used from Amazon or Ebay since it's out-of-print) and I have hit DW's website where he focuses more on the LH's than the SG DEs.
A guest blogger at Doug Winters website has done some spectacular sleuthing and analysis on the composition and details of The Fairmont Collection. He's looked at the composition to-date...what might be coming out in the future....supply risks...possible origins...etc.:
Check out the 2 most recent blog posts from December 2023 and the first one from January 2024:
https://raregoldcoins.com/blog?category=Market Blog
The Fairmont Collection appears to be in the neighborhood of 400,000 (!!)
coins, one of the largest gold/U.S. coin hoards ever found. I think that's the final guestimate by the blogger, but it could be less or MORE whenever they finally finish. 
Unfortunately, Stacks-Bowers is NOT giving out information on the specifics of where it CAME from and how it was ASSEMBLED. You would hope that a firm that has David Bowers on its name would realize the importance of (eventually) giving out that information, given the importance to the numismatic community.
PCGS is doing all of the certifications (at least to date).
From what I’ve heard it came from Venezuela and the hotel where it was brought for assessment was called the Fairmont (perhaps the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec)
Latin American Collection
Yes, I've seen that hotel reference....I'm more interested in from what sources (I am sure it is an amalgamation of various hoards/banks/collections) it came from.
It could be from 2 or 3 large ones...it could be from 40 smaller ones, where the creators recognized that one big "Fairmont Collection" hoard would sell to more of a premium than a few hundred coins here....a few thousand here.....etc.
Part III of the author's outstanding Fairmont Collection/Hoard analysis is now out:
https://raregoldcoins.com/blog/2024/2/5/fairmont-gold-pieces-part-iii-the-ungraded-fairmonts