Stack’s Bowers Galleries Notches Monumental Results From Flowing Hair Gold Coin Sale, Looks Ahead To Headlining Auctions In 2025

In the waning days of 2024, Stack’s Bowers Galleries closed the books on a record year with the live auction of Privy Mark 230th Anniversary Flowing Hair High Relief Gold Coins, each encapsulated by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). The sale, facilitating the transaction of 230 Flowing Hair High Relief Gold Coins with “230” privy marks and certificates of authenticity signed by United States Mint Director Ventris C. Gibson, realized $8,230,000.

The very first example of the 230 struck was sold in a special wooden case also containing the canceled obverse and reverse dies that produced these coins, a unique offering that fetched $440,000. The vast majority of the other coins sold in the auction realized between $30,000 and $45,000 apiece.

Prices paid for these coins are in line with the incredible demand for these very low-mintage gold coins. But there was another important factor at play – the history entwined with these coins. They’re modeled after the Flowing Hair Dollar, which was designed by Robert Scot and originally struck in 1794 to become the first United States silver dollar. The 1794 Flowing Hair Dollar is a true American treasure in any grade, with the finest, graded SP66 by PCGS, taking more than $10,016,875 at a Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ auction in 2013.

The United States Mint has been reviving classic designs on several recent coin issues, and the 230th Anniversary Flowing Hair High Relief Gold Coins were widely anticipated by numismatists. Those were sold by the U.S. Mint directly to the public, though only a limited number of examples struck with the “230” privy mark – commemorating the 230th anniversary of the first Flowing Hair Dollar – were produced. These were the pieces that were exclusively distributed by Stack’s Bowers Galleries. This sale was the culmination of a very special collaboration involving a collaboration between Stack’s Bowers Galleries and the United States Mint, along with the exclusive arrangement in which PCGS encapsulated all 230 of the Privy Mark 230th Anniversary Flowing Hair High Relief Gold Coins.

PCGS President Stephanie Sabin remarked that it was unlike any other auction event PCGS had been involved with before. “I think it will be remembered as one of the most noteworthy auction events in numismatic history,” she said. “It also underscores the marketplace significance of Stack’s Bowers Galleries, which arranged the exclusive distribution of these coveted coins from the United States Mint. That Stack’s Bowers Galleries entrusted the encapsulation of these exceptionally desirable coins with us goes to show that the best coins always end up in PCGS holders.”

The multimillion-dollar sale of the Privy Mark 230th Anniversary Flowing Hair High Relief Gold Coins capped a year during which Stack’s Bowers Galleries curated the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars in coins at auction. It leads into what should be a robust year for the nearly century-old auction house. Looking ahead to 2025, Stack’s Bowers Galleries will helm several headlining collections involving PCGS-encapsulated coins that are expected to garner much marketplace enthusiasm.