Category
Gold Coin Auctions
Gold coin auctions carry the deepest results in our sale history, and it is not close. Early federal gold, branch-mint half eagles, Type 1 double eagles, territorial and assay-office pieces, Indian quarter eagles, and modern bullion all cross our block, most weeks of the year. When collectors ask what a Gold Standard Auctions sale can do, we point at the gold table below and let the hammer prices answer.
Every figure is real and checkable. The 1851 United States Assay Office fifty-dollar gold piece that brought $92,500 in June and the 1797 eagle at $52,500 are both published on their closed catalogs with the rest of the board. Follow any source link to verify a price lot by lot.
Gold highlights from recent sales
Prices realized
July 23rd - 26th Portland Professional Coin Auction
| Lot | Description | Price realized |
|---|---|---|
| Lot 332019 | 1855-O $20 Gold Double Eagle, Choice BU+ | $67,500 |
| Lot 332078 | 1863 $10 Gold Eagle, Uncirculated | $32,500 |
| Lot 332114 | 1851 Humbert "880" $50 California Gold | $32,500 |
| Lot 332041 | 1852 Humboldt "887" $50 California Gold Assay | $23,000 |
| Lot 332111 | 1850 $20 Gold Double Eagle, Choice BU+ Prooflike | $21,000 |
| Lot 332017 | 1797 $10 Gold Eagle, Choice AU | $21,000 |
Prices realized
July 16th - 19th Portland Professional Coin Auction
| Lot | Description | Price realized |
|---|---|---|
| Lot 331907h | 1849 Oregon Exchange $5 Gold Half Eagle, NGC AU53 | $125,000 |
| Lot 331909h | 1851 Schultz $5 Gold Half Eagle, NTC XF45 | $125,000 |
| Lot 331985 | 1796 13 Leaves $10 Gold Eagle, Choice BU | $77,500 |
| Lot 331913h | 1907 $20 Double Eagle High Relief Wire Rim, NGC PF62 | $45,000 |
| Lot 331938 | 1851 A. Humbert "887" $50 Gold, Reeded Edge, Choice AU | $32,500 |
| Lot 331983 | 1852 "900" $50 US Assay California Gold, Choice AU+ | $30,000 |
Prices realized
July 9th - 12th Portland Professional Coin Auction
| Lot | Description | Price realized |
|---|---|---|
| Lot 331760 | 1871-CC $5 Gold Half Eagle, Choice BU | $21,000 |
| Lot 331715g | 1875-S $5 Gold Half Eagle, PCGS AU58 | $16,000 |
| Lot 331704 | 1892 $20 Gold Double Eagle, Uncirculated PL | $13,000 |
| Lot 331668 | 1852-D $5 Gold Half Eagle, Uncirculated | $11,500 |
| Lot 331629g | 1911-D $2.50 Gold Quarter Eagle, NGC MS63 | $9,500 |
| Lot 331753 | 1806 $5 Gold Half Eagle, Choice AU | $7,750 |
Prices realized
July 2nd - 5th Portland Professional Coin Auction
| Lot | Description | Price realized |
|---|---|---|
| Lot 331450 | 1797 $10 Gold Eagle, Uncirculated | $52,500 |
| Lot 331448 | 1795 $5 Gold Half Eagle, Uncirculated | $47,500 |
| Lot 331553 | 1860-O $20 Gold Double Eagle, Uncirculated | $47,500 |
| Lot 331453 | 1854-S $20 Gold Double Eagle, Gem BU | $40,000 |
| Lot 331467 | 1929 $5 Gold Half Eagle, Choice BU+ | $23,000 |
| Lot 331489 | 1797 Small Eagle Draped Bust Dollar, High Grade+ | $7,000 |
Prices realized
June 25th - 28th Vegas Venture Coin Auction
| Lot | Description | Price realized |
|---|---|---|
| Lot 331240 | 1851 US Assay Office "887" $50 Gold, Reeded Edge, Choice | $92,500 |
| Lot 331238 | 1851 Humbert "880" $50 Gold Assay, Lettered Edge | $72,500 |
| Lot 331244 | 1871-CC $20 Gold Double Eagle, Choice AU | $40,000 |
| Lot 331254 | 1879-CC $20 Gold Double Eagle, Uncirculated | $27,500 |
| Lot 331250 | 1858-O $20 Gold Double Eagle, Uncirculated | $19,000 |
| Lot 331248 | 1852 US Assay "884" $10 Gold, K-12a, Choice BU+ | $13,500 |
What Sells in Our Gold Coin Auctions
Pre-1933 United States gold is the backbone: quarter eagles, half eagles, eagles, and double eagles from Liberty Head through Saint-Gaudens and Indian designs. Branch-mint pieces from Carson City, Charlotte, Dahlonega, and New Orleans draw the hardest bidding because survivors are few and series collectors are patient and determined. Territorial and assay-office gold appears less often and rewrites the top of the board when it does. Alongside the numismatic material, our sales move modern bullion: American Gold Eagles, Buffalos, and world gold, for buyers who want metal at market-driven prices rather than dealer markup.
Certified pieces from NGC and PCGS anchor the better dates, and raw gold sells every week beside them. Either way the catalog shows you the coin itself in photographs, describes it plainly, and lets the market set the number. That is the whole philosophy of a coin auction done right.
Why Pre-1933 Gold Is Its Own Market
In 1933 the United States stopped striking circulating gold coins and called most of the existing ones in, and the pieces that survived became the fixed supply collectors have traded ever since. That is why a pre-1933 double eagle is not priced like two ounces of metal. It carries a date, a mint mark, a survival story, and a collector premium that moves on scarcity and demand, not just the gold chart. The same coin can be common from Philadelphia and a five-figure rarity from Carson City, which is exactly the kind of difference an auction prices better than any buy counter. Bullion sits at the other end of the same table: the metal is the price, the market is deep, and a weekly auction keeps the spread honest for buyers and sellers alike. Knowing which of the two markets your coin belongs to is half the game, and it is the first thing we sort out when a consignor calls.
Buying and Selling Gold at Auction
Buyers: gold prices move with both the metal and the collector market, so check the current spot price and recent hammer prices in our auction results before you set a ceiling, and remember the buyer's premium rides on top of the hammer. Registration for any upcoming sale is free and takes minutes; the how to bid page walks you through it. Sellers: gold is the category where auction reach earns its keep most clearly. A dealer pays you against their margin; our bidders pay against each other. Get your terms in writing through the consignment page, whether you hold one double eagle or a bank box of them. If your gold runs toward scarce dates, the rare coin auctions page shows how we handle rarities; if it runs toward dollars and halves, see the silver coin auctions too. Foreign gold has its own page at world coin auctions, and Roman and Greek gold at ancient coin auctions.