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Why No Motto Phiily half eagles may be the best value in today's rare gold market
Boosibri
Posts: 12,683 ✭✭✭✭✭
Boosibri
Posts: 12,683 ✭✭✭✭✭
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Latin American Collection
Latin American Collection
Opps, I wasn't paying attention and listed a Dahlonega instead of a Philadelphia $5.
Latin American Collection
"She comes out of the sun in a silk dress,
running like a water color in the rain...."
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
I remember that one. It still looks good!
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.american-legacy-coins.com
A few. Good article, although I think the NM halves from the CW era have room to run, the rarity of many of them are great.
US Civil War coinage
Historical Medals
Collector since 1976. On the CU forums here since 2001.
I confess I'm sometimes a lazy reader, but I read that and found it to be a good article, quite clearly written.
Doug is quite a good writer.
Too expensive, though very interesting uncluttered design. $10 no mottos are larger and therefore more impressive. By the time that these values are discovered it is usually a little too late to get in at the right price. $20 type Is have been up for a while.
Too expensive is a relative statement. Certainly not expensive relatively speaking to other rare gold issues or most other series.
The $20's moved and then the $10's and now $5's. The branch mints always move first in all series and they have done so in $5's already. C mint gold is relatively down but it was over valued in the past and is the least popular branch mint in my opinion. Dahlonega has been strong and has held strong. New Orleans was a sleeper and has gained a footing in the last few years. San Francisco slept a bit longer and the Civil War dates moved very strongly the last 5 years which has haloed positively in the last 1-2 years to issues like the 1858-S which is a rare coin with maybe 50 known but has sold for peanuts when available. I bought what is likely the finest known 1858-S $5 as it represents huge value I think.
Now what is left is the Philly No Motto range of 1839-1861, excluding the Civil War dates which have already moved.
The two 1842's are really rare (the 1842 $5 Small Letters posted above is either #1 or #2 in the census and the Large Letters is probably #3 -#5 depending on your view on quality of the other coins), more so that every No Motto $5 excluding the 1854-S, 1863, 1865 and maybe the 1861-D and on par with dates like the New Orleans 1847-O key date.
Latin American Collection
If the collector base ever increases....yes the coins are scarce, but so are the number of those seriously working on sets of them.
I do not recognize a convincing argument for a collector limiting himself to Philadelphia Mint 'No Motto' half eagles. As I made clear in a detailed article last April, "For less than $5000 per coin, a collector may build a nearly complete set of all ‘No Motto’ Liberty Head half eagles" , including Philadelphia, New Orleans, Charlotte and Dahlonega issues.
While Winter's conclusion that many Branch Mint coins have "been processed" is certainly true, there are many Philadelphia Mint pieces that are not all that original either. Finding pieces that are very original would be time-consuming, and would require expert assistance. Even if very original, a limited "date run" of P-Mint 'No Motto' half eagles would not be as satisfying as nearly completing a set, IMO. For most 19th century types, a collector could obtain a limited year-consecutive "run" of very much original coins, especially Philadelphia Mint issues. Although I weigh originality more heavily than most collectors and dealers, I do not find Winter's theme here to be path breaking or even illuminating.
Also, Winter admits that he has a current financial motive for putting forth such a 'recommendation': Winter "was recently able to pick a few dozen nice About Uncirculated common and slightly better date No Motto Philadelphia half eagles from a remarkable group of pieces which has been in Europe until recently."
I do not own any 'No Motto' half eagles. While I am not claiming to be devoid of any conflict of interest, I am not marketing an inventory of 'No Motto' half eagles.
My article in April was aimed at collectors who do not wish to spend more than $5,000 on any one coin. At somewhat to significantly, though not tremendously, higher price levels, relatively original examples of most Branch Mint issues can be found, too.
Rare Gold Coins under $5000 each, Part 9: ‘No Motto’ Liberty Head ($5 Gold) Half Eagles
Insightful10@gmail.com
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
Mark:
What does this mean? It is Friday night and I have had an exhausting week. If my above post was not ideal, or was not sufficiently sugar-coated for some readers, I apologize. I do not see that there is a reason for me to be personally ridiculed by Mark.
Part of the point of this forum is to engage in educational discussions and debates, not to just agree with a point made in an original post of a thread. People learn through debates and discussions of issues. I honestly thought that I put forth solid arguments above, which are consistent with the history and traditions of coin collecting in the U.S. It is a tradition for people to complete or nearly complete sets not to be content with buying limited date-runs of P-Mint coins from a dealer who just happened to acquire an inventory of them.
Of course, I have no objection to anyone "collecting" a limited date-run of P-Mint 'No Motto' half eagles. I certainly did not say that there is anything really bad about such an undertaking. The article in question and some contributors to this thread make it sound like this recommendation represents a deep insight or is very important. For the reasons I stated above, this 'recommendation' does not make sense to me, and is not illuminating.
It is especially relevant that I have carefully researched and presented a plan for collecting almost all 'No Motto' half eagles, with a limited budget, not just P-Mint issues. In that article, I talk about the coins, not about me. I am 'on topic' there and here!
Indeed, I have thought a great deal about Liberty Head half eagles, and I would be delighted to discuss the topic. I wish for us to discuss coins, collecting strategies and the culture of coin collecting, not me. I would be grateful if interested readers seriously consider my post above.