Auction Action

We are wrapping up 2025, and the rare coin auction market show no signs of slowing down. Indeed, with higher bullion price levels and strong demand, auction prices realized have been quite impressive on most rare coins. Below are some of the great coins that we would like to highlight.

1892 Barber Half Dollar

Bidding was fervent on this coin when it was offered by Heritage Auctions in July 2025. Many people wanted it. This first-year-of-issue Barber Half Dollar is always high in demand across the grading spectrum, especially as a nearly finest known example for both the date and the series. The coin itself is stunning! Interestingly, two of the only four MS67+ examples of this date that PCGS has graded have crossed the auction block since August 2024. The earlier sale offered an exceptionally pretty coin that sold for $18,000. This coin featured here was nicer in terms of its gorgeous, colorful toning and eye appeal, bringing a heftier $21,000.

1848 Cal Liberty Head Quarter Eagle, PCGS AU50

When Colonel R.B. Mason, acting governor of California in 1848, sent about 230 ounces of freshly discovered California gold to Secretary of War William L. Marcy, neither Mason nor Marcy had any idea of the significance of the 1,389 quarter eagles struck with this gold. On receipt of the gold, Marcy had immediately delivered the gold bullion to the Philadelphia Mint. To denote the significance of this unique striking from freshly discovered California gold, the coins were all punched with the inscription “CAL” in the upper reverse field above the eagle’s head. Surviving specimens are scarce regardless of their grade, with only 83 specimens of this issue graded by PCGS across all grades – just 27 of those coins are in the Mint State grades. Given their slim survival figures, these coins generate much bidder action when they cross the auction block. That was the case with this beautiful AU50 specimen, which brought $66,000 at an August 2025 Stack’s Bowers Galleries sale.

1880 $3 Indian Princess, PCGS PR68DCAM

Few coins are as breathtaking as this 1880 $3 Indian Princess graded PCGS PR68DCAM, making it the finest-known example for the entire series. This stunning example is part of the exceptional Floyd T. Starr collection, which included a nearly complete set of proof $3 Indian Princesses assembled between 1937 and 1962. These coins were originally purchased from Wayte Raymond, though the purchase price and date of that momentous transaction are unknown. The Raymond/Starr pedigree as ascribed to the subject coin here is numismatically significant, and furthermore, this example is a rarity of a grand scale, as only 229 PCGS-graded proof examples of the $3 Indian Princess across the entire 36-year series have earned the coveted DCAM designation. The unique opportunity to own the finest known $3 Indian Princess proof with its fabulous pedigree spurred tremendous bidder action, with the coin realizing an astounding $312,000 in an August 2025 Stack’s Bowers Galleries offering.