Rare 1870 Carson City $20 gold coin sells for $1.44M at California auction

A rare 1870 $20 "Double Eagle" gold coin was auctioned at a Southern California auction house on Tuesday afternoon, fetching $1.44 million at auction, including the buyer's premium paid to Stack's Bowers Galleries. Avid coin collectors jumped at the chance to bid on the rare coin during the auction, but only one collector walked away with the coin after paying a hefty price. The auction house did not provide any information about who bought the coin.

Minted in Carson City, Nevada, in 1870, the gold coin is a unique piece of American numismatic history. Only 3,789 of these $20 Double Eagle coins were produced, and experts estimate that just 40 to 50 of these rare coins still exist. "When this thing appeared kind of out of the woodwork after being off the market for 25 years, 30 years, it was almost like a new discovery," said John Kraljevich, a coin historian with Stack's Bowers Galleries who specializes in coin history. "This thing was totally off everybody's radar," he added.

The coin, part of the Bernard Richards collection, is the highest-graded example of its kind, according to the Professional Coin Grading Service. By the time the live auction reached the coin, the bid price had already reached $800,850, far outpacing the other coins in the catalogue. Despite its rarity and high grade, the coin fell short of the auction's prediction that it would break the $2 million barrier. Nonetheless, the sale price reflects the immense value collectors place on such rare items.

The last time this specific coin was sold was at a Stack's auction in 1986 for $23,100. The significant increase in its value over the decades highlights the surging prices of collector coins. According to Kraljevich, collector coin prices surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as more people channeled their investments into personal hobbies.

Prior to 1849, the highest denomination for a gold coin in the United States was $10, known as the eagle. The $20 Double Eagle coin was authorized after the California Gold Rush brought an abundance of gold supply. "The $20 Double Eagle coin was authorized after the California Gold Rush brought an abundance of gold supply," Kraljevich explained. The coin contains just under one ounce of gold, and its gold content is valued at approximately $2,600.

In November 2021, the second finest coin of this type was sold in an auction for $1.62 million. This demonstrates the high demand and value placed on these rare coins by collectors. The fact that the current coin sold for slightly less than this previous record indicates fluctuations in the market and the unique appdouneal of each individual coin.

The sale of this rare coin brings attention to other significant numismatic sales in recent years. In 2021, Stuart Weitzman, a luxury shoe designer, auctioned three rare objects, including a 1933 Double Eagle coin. According to Sotheby's, "The 1933 Double Eagle has a uniquely captivating history which encapsulates large swathes of United States history and has been at the center of numismatic intrigue for more than 80 years. It is America's last gold coin struck for circulation, ending a tradition begun in 1795. Known as the coin that took the US off the Gold Standard, 1933 Double Eagles were the last American gold coins struck and intended for circulation by the United States Mint but were never legally issued for use." The coin later sold at auction for $18.9 million, according to the Smithsonian Magazine.

The sale was covered by CBS News, Newsweek, and The Epoch Times, among other outlets.

This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq