World’s Fair Of Money

Oklahoma City Convention Center | 100 Mick Cornett Dr, Oklahoma City, OK 73109 August 19-23, 2025 – View $MILLIONS$ in rare coins and numismatic treasures. Buy, sell, and trade with hundreds of coin dealers, attend lectures and presentations from noted numismatists, and find out what your old coins may be worth! Show Hours Tuesday — 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday – Friday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday — 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Admission is FREE for everyone on Saturday!) Admission Information Admission is $10 daily, $25 for weekly pass.  Free for ANA members & children under 12.  Admission is free for everyone on…

Flying Eagle Cent, 1856-1858 | CoinWeek

The Large Cent Gives Way to the Small Cent By the early 1850s, copper was limited, and the price of the raw metal rose to the point that the United States Mint lost money on every cent that was made. At the same time, the large copper cents had become increasingly unpopular with the American public, which thought the coins too ugly, too heavy, and too prone to collecting dirt. To address the situation, Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1857 that specified a smaller cent, composed of 88% copper and 12% nickel, based on trial half cents produced in that composition by Mint Director James Snowden in…

The Rare and Undervalued 1873, 1876, and 1877 Liberty Head Eagles: A Study

Viewed as a series, the Liberty Head eagles tend to be overlooked. This is especially true for the With Motto series which was produced from 1866 through 1907. You can make a strong case that the Carson City eagles are far from overlooked, and the New Orleans eagles of this design have a good amount of demand. But the Philadelphia and San Francisco coins remain overlooked. When you ask the typical collector about the rarity of specific Philadelphia issues in the With Motto Liberty Head eagle series, he is likely to recognize the excessively rare 1875. With a mintage of…

Fairmont Gold Pieces, Part VIII: The No Motto Half Eagles – Survival Estimates

A guest blog by Andrew J. Fandozzi Introduction The word “survivor” designates the beneficiary of an improbable outcome, not infrequently the result of pure chance. In this sense, every no-motto half eagle in existence today is a survivor. As we shall see, experts estimate that there are perhaps 45,000 of these coins, the remnant of an original mintage of over 11,000,000. In other words, the odds against survival for these coins were on the order of 250-to-1, which qualifies as improbable. Among these survivors, I believe that somewhat more than 3,600, or about 8%, are Fairmont coins. Indeed, when the…

The DWN Guide to Buying Rare US Gold Coins

I spend millions of dollars per year on rare US gold coins. Here are some of the questions I ask myself when contemplating the purchase of literally every coin. Please note that I give considerably more time thinking through the purchase of a $25,000 coin than I do one priced at $2,500. However, I do ask many of the same questions for the lower priced coin as I do the more expensive one. IS THE COIN NICE? Seems like a pretty basic question, but it’s one that has to be asked—and answered—on every coin you buy. As I view coins…

Heritage Sells the Mississippi Collection – and the Type One $20 Market Gets Recalibrated

Heritage Sells the Mississippi Collection. Traditionally, the Heritage February Long Beach sale is small in comparison to most other coin auctions conducted by this firm. This is because Long Beach closely follows the FUN show held in January, which has become the biggest and best show and auction in the coin year. Given the choice of consigning to the vibrant FUN atmosphere as opposed to the moribund Long Beach gloom, most collectors and dealers wisely choose the Florida option. Upon receiving my Long Beach February 2025 sale catalog, I was stunned by its size and scope. A quick perusal showed…

Fairmont Gold Pieces, Part X: Recapitulation

Introduction After almost 50 auctions between June, 2018, and April, 2025, involving some 6,800 coins, the Stack’s Bowers Galleries (SBG) Fairmont sales have officially ended. Among these auctions have been 29 sales that included at least 50 coins with the “Fairmont Collection” pedigree. There have been 13 Fairmont-only sessions, including the initial June, 2018, sale of double eagles, the August, 2020, sale of half eagles, and 11 “named-set” auctions that included half eagles, eagles, and double eagles. A single stray $3 coin and one $5 Territorial were sold. No gold dollars or quarter eagles have appeared among the Fairmont coins.…

So…You’ve Decided to Collect Dahlonega Gold…

The Dahlonega Mint opened in 1838 as a result of the North Georgia gold rush. The difficulty of transporting gold ore to Philadelphia for deposits and/or coinage made this former backwater a viable location for the production of coinage. The mint was opened until 1861 when the outbreak of the Civil War closed all three southern facilities. If I had to select the Most Popular Branch Mint it would likely be Dahlonega (although Carson City could make this boast as well). Dahlonega gold coins have become an avidly-sought after area of the market with collectors from all over the country…

Collecting New Orleans Eagles

Collecting New Orleans Eagles. In my admittedly biased opinion, I find the eagles produced at the New Orleans mint to be among the most interesting and collectible gold issues from the 19th century. Eagles were first made at the New Orleans mint in 1841—three years after this facility opened in 1838. These coins are part of the No Motto type which continued through 1866. However, no eagles of this design type were made after 1860, as the mint closed in 1861 due to the beginning of the Civil War. The mint reopened in 1879 and eagle coinage resumed through 1883.…

Coin Grading 101: How Do I Get My Coins Graded?

Get answers for your most asked coin grading questions. In this blog, you will learn how and where to get your coins and currency graded, and what to expect when submitting for grading.

How to Safely Store and Care For Your Coins

How should I safely care for my coin collection? Proper care and storage of your coin collection can help preserve their value and beauty for years to come. Here are...