Featured A Brief History of the 1907 High Relief Double Eagle

That one is graded MS-65. It is really nice. I got it for a little less because it is NGC graded (the “wrong company”), and it has no green bean.

 

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Can always be crossed and beaned

 

I’ve looked at auction results and au 58s and 62/3 selling where I might be able to touch one if things turn around for me as I’m seeing them between $9500-16k it’ll just take the right coin too as I wang a pretty example

 

Wow, maybe it's just the angle of the pics and the lighting but I'm seeing very few marks or blemishes. Looks undergraded if it really is an MS-65.

 

AU-58 High Reliefs for under $10,000 ? I'll have to check Heritage but just going by what I saw at FUN and my glancings over the last few months auctions, I thought I recall 58's going for about $15K and MS-65's closer to $45,000.

 

Last ha sale a 55 and 58 both at 9900 a 53 at 8750. At January fun a bunch of 63s at 13200 and a 62 for $37500. Yeah gold cac 62 in ogh and gorgeous. I still think that was too much for it by about $10k a 65 went for $34800 at the same sale. A 64 in December brought $19200

 

Yeah, I punched up a bunch anf there are some bids and MAKE OFFERS that are lower than I thought (is there a buyer's premium if you buy direct with Make Offer ?).

https://www.ha.com/c/search-results...+$20&Ntk=SI_Titles-Desc&ic10=BidBuyTab-071515

Maybe some of the stuff at FUN had a CAC sticker and thus was higher-priced. Or maybe the AU-58's were just higher-priced or I am misremembering the price.

I'll have to check the price chart on NGC or PCGS. Probably trended lower and it may be lagged because when I checked a few weeks or months ago, I don't recall the price falling to the current levels.

 

Looks like you've had two $2,000 price drops in the last year, including one a few days/weeks ago on NGC for MS-63's.

https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/united-states/gold-double-eagles/70/history/19135/63/

That's pretty weak performance for a coin like the 1907 HR, given gold itself has largely been UP over this time.

 

Looks like this is where I got the AU-58's @ $15,000 price from:

https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/united-states/gold-double-eagles/70/history/19135/58/

Price action looks STRONGER than for other higher-graded coins, at first glance. Could be folks realizing the cheaper 58's are a better bargain than the stuff from MS61-65.

 

Probably a market correction and there were a lot to choose from at Jan fun so people could be picky. I still love that gold cac I think it’s a high end 64 though and overpriced though I’d NEVER crack it out

 

The AU-58's are holding up nicely......price increases in the last few years from the chart....but higher-gradeds FALLING.

Not HUGE declines, like the 20-30% declines cited for Franklins and Morgans, but still weakness. And the 1907 HR stands out...it's the one coin (aside from the Ultra or 1933 or others that are rare because of scarcity) that stands out because it has the high relief.

 

Over the last 5 years, the AU-58's are flat whereas the MS65's and similar gradeds are down 20-30%.

Only at the MS-67 grade do you see pricing holding up over the last 5 years, mostly thanks to bump ups in recent years.

 

On GC, this nice MS63 CAC went for just over $18K (with bp):

https://www.greatcollections.com/Co...e-MCMVII-High-Relief-Flat-Edge-PCGS-MS-63-CAC

But this AU53 in an OGH didn't get any bids for $9K:

https://www.greatcollections.com/Co...e-MCMVII-High-Relief-Wire-Edge-PCGS-AU-53-OGH

I don't know why I posted that AU58's went for $15K....that number stood out in my mind, I think because a guy just walking the floor at FUN like me SHOWED me an AU58 (CAC?) and said he PAID that much for it but wasn't getting offers anywhere near that price (he was looking to sell it at FUN).

Heritage has been selling AU58 HR's in the last year or so for about $12,000 give-or-take, and that includes the BP.

 

Type 1 HR vs. Type 2/3 Differences: One of my favorite "tells" for authenticity of Saints is to look at Liberty's right leg and look for 3 "V-shaped" folds. I didn't know that there must have been some minute changes to the dies aside from relief changes when they went from High Relief to normal relief with the Type 2 & 3 coins....OR....it's just not as prominent on the High Reliefs. But it's clearly visible on the Type 2's/3's and not on the Type 1 HR's.

You can only see 1 fold here in a 1907 HR:



Here are a 1923-D and a 1908 NM with the 3 folds:





It might be a strike issue and maybe other Type 3's also don't show the 3 folds, I haven't looked year-by-year. Comments welcome, I'll also do more DD.

 

Latest Auction Results: A couple of HR auctions on HA this weekend.

An AU53 PCGS CAC went for $9,300 including bp. An MS63 PCGS CAC went for $17,400 including bp.

Scarcity value at the top-end is NOT dragging up the lower grades, it appears.

 

Interesting... a few High Reliefs up for sale on GC are simply priced too high. Their starting bid minimum is simply above the final sales price I've seen on HA in recent months.

I think this is sellers not being realistic in the market for U.S. coins, even a trophy like a 1907 HR.

Maybe they'll get lucky and get their price, but I think they are 5-10% too high (and that's before the bp).

 

I just got Roger Burdette's book on Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles put out by Heritage....it's spectacular and has tons of information on the 1907 High Relief, FYI.

 

Yea, if I want to pay over $2,500 before I am ready to sell it. Years from now PCGS and CAC might not be what they are now.

At a certain point, grading should not be tied to price paid.

 

Would it really cost that much to send it to PCGS and CAC ?

FWIW, no way would I send it to PCGS. I never understood this whole crack-out thing as PCGS and NGC are basically interchangeable (certainly, not the case with ICG and ANACS) except for those with a hard-on for PCGS. My only problem with NGC is some of their holders aren't that aesthetically pleasing, and you can't see the edges of the coin.

I can't believe that for sophisticated buyers of an expensive coin -- and the 1907 HR certainly qualifies -- that buyers are more concerned with the holder than the coin. Maybe with someone buying a 1924 or 1908 common, but not a 5-figure coin.

Getting a Green CAC sticker makes more sense than doing the crossover game, IMO. Not essential either, but better than just hoping for a higher grade or getting a new holder by sending in to the other TPG.

 

Yea, it costs that much. At a certain point the grading fee becomes dependent upon the value of the item. I think that sucks, and I think it sounds like you are “buying the grade,” but that’s the price structure.