Rare coin issued after the California Gold Rush sold at auction for $1.4 million

Los Angeles At a Southern California auction house Tuesday afternoon, coin enthusiasts leapt at the chance to acquire a rare $20 double eagle gold coin, but only one emerged triumphant after shelling out a substantial sum.

Coined in 1870 in Carson City, Nevada, the gold piece brought $1.44 million at auction, which included the buyer’s premium, which was paid to the Stack’s Bowers Galleries. According to the auction house’s coin history specialist John Kraljevich, only 3,789 of them were made, and there are only 40 to 50 left.

The buyer of the coin was not disclosed by the auction company.

Prior to 1849, the eagle, or $10, was the greatest denomination of gold currency. According to Kraljevich, the $20 double eagle was approved following the California Gold Rush, which brought with it a wealth of gold supplies.

This particular coin was last sold for $23,100 at a Stack’s auction in 1986.

“Everyone was completely unaware of this,” Kraljevich stated. It was almost like a new discovery when this stuff seemed somewhat out of the ordinary after being off the market for 25 or 30 years.

The bid price had already surpassed all other coins in the catalogue by a significant margin, reaching $800,850 by the time the coin was up for auction. According to the industry-standard Professional Coin Grading Service, it is the best grade coin of its kind known to exist and was sold from the Bernard Richards collection. The auction’s prediction that it would surpass the $2 million threshold was not met, though.

In November 2021, the second-finest coin brought $1.62 million at auction. Due to people investing in their hobbies during the COVID-19 epidemic, collector’s coin prices increased significantly, according to Kraljevich.

The actual gold, which weighs slightly under one ounce in the coin, is valued at about $2,600.