Rare Gold Coin Basics — An Unsurpassed Track Record

We can trace gold back to ancient times as one of the few treasures that's managed to navigate centuries intact. With the long and glamorous history of gold, pre-1933 US rare coins hold the record for top performance. Here are seven of the basic reasons US investment rare gold coins belong in your diversified portfolio:

1: PROFITABILITY... THEY BEAT OUT STOCKS
As verified by the Associated Press, by investing $1,000 in a “basket” of generic U.S. gold coins in 1970, you would now have assets valued at $22,500. If you'd bought stock instead, according to the Dow you would have $13,500.

2: PRIVACY
If you believe your business is private and not the rest of the worlds, you will enjoy the complete privacy of certified gold coins, which are bought and sold without any financial disclosures or dealer reporting.

3: DIVERSIFICATION FOR OTHER INVESTMENTS
The rise in value of investment-grade coins when paper investments are failing is well documented.

4: LOW VOLATILITY
Because the coin market has a fixed supply (i.e. no new rare coins are being minted), stronger demand can only be satisfied through price increases.

5: DOUBLE-PLAY INVESTMENT
You can profit from the gold coin market in two ways; first, when the price of the underlying gold raises the value of your coin should rise as well. But because there are only a limited number of US rare coins, their value can increase over the underlying metal. Even when the price of gold falls, low supply coins may not only keep their value, but could rise.

6: NOT SUBJECT TO CONFISCATION
Because they are classified as collectables, the government will not confiscate your P.C.G.S. investment-grade coins.

7: INSTANT LIQUIDITY
With independent certification from Professional Coin Grading Service and Numismatic Guarantee Corporation you have complete liquidity and the exact populations of your coins, a major advantage when dealing with supply and demand. PCGS offers daily price updates on rare coins, by purchasing from CGE you will always save on these prices.

Our Proprietary Coin Selection

There is a science to choosing the right coins and it incorporates many factors simultaneously. For your
protection, we offer the most demanding coin selection process in the industry and consider these factors:

High Relief St. Gaudens Double Eagle

Designer: Augustus Saint-Gaudens Face Value: $20.00 Minted: 1907 Precious Metal Content: .96750 oz. Pure Gold Diameter: 34mm

The high relief of these coins caused certain minting problems, which eventually led to their replacement with a less distinctive design. Multiple blows from the coin press were required to fully bring out the original Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle design, causing objections from the engravers at the Philadelphia Mint.

President Roosevelt overrode the engravers objections and ordered the Mint to issue the coins. However, they also caused stacking problems. When they reached the public, their unique beauty inspired many people to hold onto them as souvenirs, thus keeping them out of general circulation. The coins almost immediately became a collector item or investment vehicle by commanding a $5 - $10 premium over face value. After only 11,250 High Relief Double Eagles were minted, the design relief was lowered to make them more easily produced. Even now the High Relief is the favorite U.S. coin design, and thought by many to be the most beautiful coin ever minted.

$20 St. Gaudens Double Eagle

Designer: Augustus Saint-Gaudens Face Value: $20.00 Minted: 1907-1933 Precious Metal Content: .96750 oz. Pure Gold Diameter: 34mm

Inspired by the ancient Greek coinage he viewed while touring the Smithsonian Institute in 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt embarked on a campaign to cure the blandness of American coinage by commanding new designs for their entire range. In doing so, Roosevelt wanted coins that could fully reflect America's status as the world's most powerful nation.

The President contacted Augustus Saint-Gaudens, an artist who had created Roosevelt's inaugural medallion, and asked him to design a new series of coins. Saint-Gaudens agreed to come up with coins similar to those of the ancient Greek coins, which had caught Roosevelt's eye.

However Saint-Gaudens died before finishing his task, but his majestic Double Eagle $20 gold piece became the most famous of all his works. In a design based on Saint-Gaudens sculpture “Victory”' on the obverse, Liberty strides forward into the dawn. Her right hand holds up a torch while her left offers an olive branch. The top proclaims the word “LIBERTY” while stars circle the border representing the 46 states admitted to the Union as of 1907. The reverse depicts an American eagle in flight over the sun.

When Theodore Roosevelt first saw the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle design, he realized the artist had created a coin for the ages. Fortunately he did not know that later his cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt would confiscate all privately held gold and melt down most of these works of art into bars.

$20 Liberty Double Eagle

Designer: James B. Longacre Face Value: $20.00 Minted: 1849-1907 Precious Metal Content: .96750 oz. Pure Gold Diameter: 34mm

The U.S. Mint produced only $2.50, $5 and $10 coins until 1849, when the California gold rush inspired Congress to authorize production of the first $20 coin, the legendary $20 Liberty Double Eagle.

Since its introduction in 1850, the coin was produced in three types: Type I, or the "No Motto" variety, was minted from 1849 to 1866. Type II, which had the designation "Twenty D" on its reverse, was minted from 1866 to 1876. This was followed in 1877 by the introduction of the, Type III with "Twenty Dollars" fully spelled out, which became the most common variety as it was minted over the next thirty years. The Liberty Double Eagle features the highest gold content of any regular issue U.S. gold coin of its time. Liberty appears on the obverse, while the reverse depicts a magnificent eagle, with wings fully spread.

For over half a century (1850 – 1907), these were the most prominent of American coins and remain a shining memento of our hard-money heritage.

$10 Indian Eagle

Designer: Augustus Saint-Gaudens Face Value: $10.00 Minted: 1907-1933 Precious Metal Content: 48375 oz. Pure Gold Diameter: 27mm

Along with the Liberty Double Eagle, Augustus Saint-Gaudens designed the magnificent $10 Indian gold piece to replace the $10 Liberty. However the Indian Eagle raised a few eyebrows when it was first introduced. The obverse featured Liberty dressed in a full Indian war bonnet with star-tipped feathers. Eventually the public adapted to this “new look” with their coins and came to be widely accepted and admired.

A perched eagle dominates the reverse under the words “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”, arched at the top. The phrase “E PLURIBUS UNUM” also appears. Originally President Theodore Roosevelt refused to allow the “In God We Trust” motto to be included in fear that the coins might be used for immoral purposes, but Congress reinstated the motto in 1908 where it remained. Forty-six raised stars appear on the edges of the Eagles minted from 1908-1911, with two more stars joining in 1912 to mark the two new states.

$10 Liberty Eagle

Designer: Christian Gobrecht Face Value: $10.00 Minted: 1838-1907 Precious Metal Content: .48375 oz. Pure Gold Diameter: 27mm

The obverse of the Liberty Eagle takes its design from the popular 1816 Coronet-type Large Cent, while the reverse features a most impressive eagle.

Its convenient size and denomination allowed the $10 Liberty to achieve quick and sustained popularity as one of the most circulated coins in U.S. history. During the Civil War, people hoarded these coins whose value in paper money more than doubled their $10 denomination.

$5 Indian Half Eagle

Designer: Bela Lyon Pratt Face Value: $5.00 Minted: 1908-1929 Precious Metal Content: .24187 oz. Pure Gold Diameter: 20mm

A Native American Chief of unknown tribe appears on the obverse of the Half Eagle, while the reverse features the traditional American Eagle settled on symbols of war and peace (arrows and olive branch). Design features were recessed (incused) into the coin rather than raised, which caused public concern as whether the coins might become disease carriers and resulted in a general hesitance to keep even un-circulated ones for posterity because its designer did not use rims to protect the surface of the coin, it is extremely difficult to find un-circulated examples.

$5 Liberty Half Eagle

Designer: Christian Gobrecht Face Value: $5.00 Minted: 1839-1908 Precious Metal Content: .24187 oz. Pure Gold Diameter: 22mm

Only one coin has been struck at all seven mints: the Liberty Half Eagle. One type, the extremely scarce "No Motto," was minted from 1839 until 1865 while the "With Motto" (IN GOD WE TRUST) type was minted from 1866 until 1908.

The Liberty Half Eagle depicts Liberty on the obverse with the traditional eagle on the reverse combined with symbols of war and peace.

Because of gold hoarding during the Civil War, the U.S. government greatly cut back on minting these coins, making issues from that era particularly difficult to find.

$4 Stella

Designer: Charles E. Barber and George T. Morgan Face Value: $4.00 Minted: 1879-1880 Precious Metal Content: .93 part gold, .07 parts copper and silver Diameter: n/a

One of the most well-known and desired U.S. coins, the Stella, was minted in 1879 and 1880 in two types: Charles E. Barber's Flowing Hair and George T. Morgan's Coiled Hair. The coin received its name because of its five-point star on the reverse.

Originally the Stella was intended to serve as a prototype for an international coinage to closely approximate the value of common foreign coinage. However it never was minted for circulation, becoming instead an instant collector's item. Because only 460 were originally minted, Stella's are extremely scarce today, and only a few can be considered investment-grade.

$3 Indian Princess

Designer: James B. Longacre Face Value: $3.00 Minted: 1854-1889 Precious Metal Content: .14512 oz. Pure Gold Diameter: 20mm

The $3 gold piece is an extremely unusual and rare coin. Its odd denomination may have stemmed from Congressional desire to simplify the purchase of a sheet of 100 3-cent stamps.

To keep the $3 gold piece from being confused with two other gold coins of the time period that were of similar size (the Liberty Quarter and Half Eagles), James Longacre the Mint Engraver, created an understated and unique design. Today's investors and collectors continue to admire this coin's simple beauty.

$2.50 Indian Quarter Eagle

Designer: Bela Lyon Pratt Face Value: $2.50 Minted: 1908-1929 Precious Metal Content: .12094 oz. Pure Gold Diameter: 17mm

Although sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens had been retained by President Theodore Roosevelt to revamp the full range of American coins, his untimely death allowed him to complete only the $10 (Eagle) and $20 (Double Eagle) gold pieces. However Bela Lyon Pratt, one of Saint-Gaudens students, took over the task of redesigning the $2.50 and $5.00 denominations. His fascinating Indian design was recessed into the coin rather than raised, making this coin and its $5 cousin unique in U.S. minting.

Because the $2.50 Indian was minted for only a very short time (1908 – 1915 and 1925 - 1929), it is sufficiently rare to be an attractive investment as well as collector's item.

Indian Gold Dollar Type III

Designer: James B. Longacre Face Value: $1.00 Minted: 1856-1889 Precious Metal Content: .04837 oz. Pure Gold Diameter: 15mm

This simple and beautiful Type III Gold Dollar borrowed its obverse design of Liberty from the $3 gold piece, where she appears in a feathered Indian headdress. The reverse features a wreath enclosing the date and denomination.

Indian Gold Dollar Type II

Designer: James B. Longacre Face Value: $1.00 Minted: 1854-1856 Precious Metal Content: .04837 oz. Pure Gold Diameter: 15mm

The Type II Indian Head Gold Dollar features Liberty in her feathered Indian headdress on the obverse, the reverse depicts a wreath enclosing the denomination and date.

The diameter of the original Type 1 was increased by 2mm to 15mm to create the Type II so that the coins could be handled more easily. However the coin did not strike up well because of a design flaw. After being minted for only three years, the Type II was replaced by a new design.

Despite its scarcity, there is a high demand for the Type II Gold Dollar, which is considered the key coin in the popular 12-Coin U.S. Gold Set.

Indian Gold Dollar Type I

Designer: James B. Longacre Face Value: $1.00 Minted: 1849-1854 Precious Metal Content: .04837 oz. Pure Gold Diameter: 13mm

At only 13 millimeters in diameter, this Type I Liberty Gold Dollar is the smallest of the U.S. gold coins. The obverse features the crowned image of Liberty amid the 13 stars of the original 13 states, while a wreath encloses the denomination and date on the reverse.

On a handful of the 1849 issues, Liberty's head is extremely small. Type I Gold Dollars in high mint state grades are very rare.

We will evaluate your personal investment goals and recommend the most suitable form of certified coin ownership to maximize profit and minimize risk. Call us now for a free consultation or charts and population reports on your favorite coins.

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