Avid coin collectors jumped at the chance to snag a rare $20 “double eagle” gold coin at a Southern California auction house Tuesday afternoon, but only one walked away victorious after paying a high price.
The gold piece – minted in Carson City, Nevada, in 1870 – sold for $1.44 million including the buyer’s premium, a fee paid to Stack’s Bowers Galleries. Only 3,789 were produced and an estimated 40 to 50 remain, according to John Kraljevich, who specializes in coin history at the auction house.
The auction house did not provide information about who purchased the coin.
Before 1849, the highest value for a gold coin was $10, known as the eagle. The $20 double eagle was adopted after the California Gold Rush brought a glut of gold supplies, Kraljevich said.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries via AP
The last time this particular coin was sold was at a Stack’s auction in 1986 for $23,100.
“This thing was completely off everyone’s radar,” Kraljevich said. “When this thing kind of came out of nowhere after being off the market for 25, 30 years, it was almost a new discovery.”
By the time the coin reached the live auction, the bidding price had already reached $800,850, which was much higher than the other coins in the catalog. It was sold from the Bernard Richards Collection and is, according to the industry standard Professional Coin Grading Service, the highest quality coin of its kind in existence. However, it fell short of the auction’s prediction that it would break the $2 million mark.
The second best coin sold at auction in November 2021 for $1.62 million. The price of collectible coins went up significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic as people started investing in their hobbies, Kraljevich said.
The value of the gold itself, which amounts to just under one ounce in the coin, is worth approximately $2,600.
