Pioneer Gold Popularity
Proofmorgan
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I have lightly followed this area of numismatics over time
due to the quality of some original examples and overall attractive appearance. Until recent years, it seems these were off the beaten path and under-appreciated. Their prices still being high due to their scarcity may have also been a deterrent to the masses.
With some recent availability of quality examples, I figured I’d dabble in this area but was utterly blown out of the water.
Any insight to the recent popularity and strong prices or has my head just been in the sand the whole time?
Collector of Original Early Gold with beginnings in Proof Morgan collecting.
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I think I'm fairly qualified to weigh in on this, so I'll do my best to explain why Pioneer gold has appeared to be more popular in recent years.
Pioneer and private gold has some of the most rich and fascinating history of all of US numismatics, and the new Kagin-Mccarthy book has probably brought a few new deep-pocketed collectors into the arena. Pioneer gold was always very interesting, but for the longest time, It didn't have the recognition and promotion it deserved.
The advent of social media has led to more attention for the series. I, myself, have inadvertently raised the market on pioneer gold just by posting about it all the time and showing the coins on instagram and the forums. Many collectors were unaware of the history, but like myself, once someone else introduced me to the series I fell in love and haven't turned back.
The Fairmont hoard has shown us that some of the previously "scarce date" gold is not so scarce after all. Speaking for myself, Fairmont somewhat turned me off to federal-issued Liberty series US gold. Pioneer gold was not saved in large quantities, and I'm highly doubtful any unknown "hoard" will ever surface. There are some sizeable collections out there that would hurt the market if ever blown out at an auction, but collectors of these coins generally have diamond hands.
The market for Pioneer was actually stronger than most were aware of, but the riverboat collection actually had a terrible effect on the market in 2014. There wasn't enough money floating around to absorb all of those coins at the time, and when you blow out a collection like that on heritage, many of the pieces that should have brought over a million dollars sold for 500-800k. Those APRs kept the market down until covid, just like many other series.
There is an EXTREME variance in quality at any given grade level, even more than other series. The TPGs did not know how to grade Pioneer for the longest time. The coins were generally poorly made and weakly struck and subsequently they were under graded or net graded. You can have two coins in the same PCGS grade and one is worth 3x what the other one is worth. When these nice pieces show up, they blow the guides and the greysheet away. The greysheet values are basically irrelevant when a nice coin goes to auction. Most of the nicest coins trade privately for even more money, and those values are never recorded publicly.
CAC- There are many more CAC collectors than there were in the past, and John doesn't sticker a lot of Pioneer. This leaves very few coins to fight over, and oftentimes a not-that-great coin with a sticker can sell for way more than it should be worth.
FWIW, even I was blown out of the water in the recent HA sale. That's saying something, as I've been known to be pretty aggressive and set new records fairly often. I only won the Moffat $10 in vf35 OGH, which is actually an XF, and I couldn't get anything else even though I bid on all of them. I think some might have gotten a bit overzealous seeing a whole pioneer collection come to the market at one time, but some of the pieces went for "too much" if you were to ask me. Some of the others were spot on, but I'm still of the mindset that Pioneer is underappreciated and has some ways to go when you consider the overall scarcity coupled with gold rush history, and lack of preservation for many of the coins. Pioneer is a MINEFIELD if you don't know what you're doing, and it's easy to pay too much for a no-grade if you only rely on the holder and grade.
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@DeplorableDan is, of course, 100% right and very insightful.
One other thought regarding strong prices. There are essentially no inexpensive issues and, I suspect, few buy a "Pioneer" for type, as each issue is so different. There is no equivalent 81-S $1 or 1908 $20 that someone can just buy on the cheap. That leaves the average pioneer buyer with a very strong budget.
When something nice comes around that a well heeled collector is interested in, there is very little difference in the budget between $75k and $80k...or $100k. Every now and again you have someone like me making a rare, aspirational type purchase, but the waters are very deep and many sharks abound.
Chopmarked Trade Dollar Registry Set --- US & World Gold Showcase --- World Chopmark Showcase
Agree entirely with Dan and lermish. Pioneers are a very cool segment of the coin market that I wish I had focused on sooner. Buyers beware that inconsistent grades are the norm and not the exception.
Great information here! What is the minimum a Pioneer collector should expect to spend?
Base level pioneer (bechtler dollars, moffatt or clark $5) start around 5k. 10k opens up a lot more, but 15k is a sweet spot where you can get many of the more common issues (Kellogg $20, bechtler $5, low grade moffatt $10 or low grade norris, 1853 assay $20 and many of the 2.50 coins) in nice condition xf/au.
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Dan: I really agree with you on # 5. When I bought my slug in 1991 it was in an OGH at 30. I sent it in again a few years ago and got a 40. It is now CAC.
Everyone loves them, but few can afford them, best I can do is a Bechtler dollar without selling some land and as much as I like coins, I like land better.
Thanks @DeplorableDan, I am curious if this extends to California Fractional Gold also? I am only just now dabbling in these after a few recent impulse buys of some really cool coins.
Marketing... niche arena with low volume so a good marketing campaign can inflate prices.... like MPL's in 07-11
I don't know enough details to go in depth but this happened some years ago. A well known dealer marketed slugs very well and their prices went up significantly (despite them not being that rare) and have stayed up.
Chopmarked Trade Dollar Registry Set --- US & World Gold Showcase --- World Chopmark Showcase
Not that I'm aware of, no. It seems like there may be an increased interest in Cal-fracs but not nearly to the same degree as the standard denominations.
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An Oregon $5 has always been on my bucket list. The $10 seems unaffordable.
It’s interesting to compare the strength of the Pioneer gold market to the equally interesting but far less exuberant Colonial market.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Historical significance of Pioneer gold IMO is off the charts.
The only appreciation potential issue I see is that the supply is being thinned out to such a degree and in strong hands that certain issues will not trade much. So values may stagnate.
I'll tell you exactly why pioneer gold is more popular all of a sudden. It's because I just sold most of my pioneer over the past year. Impeccable timing, as usual!
Also, thanks for using the more accurate terminology "pioneer", vs. territorial which caught on but never really made sense.
I've been warming up to the colonial issues, perhaps we can chat at the next show you're at.
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As far as popularity, if I had the money (I don’t) I’d be much more inclined to go after early U.S. gold versus Pioneered Gold. If I exhausted what I was looking for in government issued gold and still had unlimited resources then Pioneer would be my next step, assuming I had the P-51 I always wanted
I've started on Cal Gold a few times over the years and gave up a few times. I think I'll get back to them more seriously one day, if I live long enough. Anyway, you can see the small group I couldn't part with here:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/private-issues-territorial-gold/california-fractional-gold/california-fractional-gold-complete-collection-period-one/imagegallery/282517
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I find the pioneer gold fascinating, myself. My pockets are very shallow, I’m just happy to have one humble piece.
And the new Kagin book is awesome!
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Oh dear lord those are killer. I'm not big into fractionals, but when they look like that I am. 😂
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Yes, those look remarkable. I’ve never seen toning like that on gold coins before, incredible.
Mr_Spud
Here’s my one and only budget pioneer gold coin. It’s one of my favorite coins in my collection. I got it from Kagin after talking to him at a coin show and telling him I was looking for an affordable Bechtler piece. I gave him my email address and a couple of weeks later he emailed me and offered me the coin at a very readonable price and I bought it. I plan on getting a few more someday. Probably another Bechtler coin, that one with the backwards “N” on it, that variety has lots of character and relatively affordable to most other Bechtlers even in a straight circulated grade.
Mr_Spud
The 3rd edition of California Pioneer Fractional Gold is being written right now.