Collectors are scooping up gold coins from the Saddle Ridge Hoard at a brisk pace. Nearly half of the 1,427 coins sold within the first dozen hours at per coin prices ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. The collection is estimated in value of at least $10 million.
The treasure of gold pieces, discovered in buried cans on a couple’s private land in California, went on sale during the evening of Tuesday, May 27 on the websites of Kagins.com and Amazon.com.
A more expensive batch of higher graded coins was added to the sale on Wednesday, to include what is described as the "14 Finest Saddle Ridge Coins in Original Can." The asking price for the lot is $2.75 million. All 14 pieces are $20 Double Gold Eagles and authenticated by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). Specifically, the 14-coin lot includes:
- 1866-S $20 No Motto PCGS MS62
- 1866-S $20 With Motto PCGS MS62+
- 1870-S $20 Type-II PCGS MS62
- 1877-S $20 Type-III PCGS MS65
- 1878-S $20 Type-III PCGS MS63
- 1880-S $20 Type-III PCGS MS64
- 1881-S $20 Type-III PCGS MS64
- 1882-S $20 Type-III PCGS MS64+
- 1884-S $20 Type-III PCGS MS65
- 1889-S $20 Type-III PCGS MS65+
- 1890-CC $20 Type-III PCGS MS63
- 1890-S $20 Type-III PCGS MS66+
- 1892-S $20 Type-III PCGS MS65+
- 1894-S $20 Type-III PCGS MS65
The first coin alone, the 1866-S No Motto Double Eagle, is valued at close to $1 million.
Excitement over the hoard has hit the mainstream media. Yesterday, USA TODAY published an interesting article about recent sales, quoting David McCarthy, the senior numismatist at Kagin’s Inc.:
"We are looking at a likely sellout,". Though he says, with such a hefty price tag, the 14-coin lot may take a while to sell.
McCarthy was the person entrusted by the California couple to help them in learning about the gold coins. (Read about their discovery.)
Believed to be the greatest buried treasure ever unearthed in the U.S., time looks to be running out for anyone wanting a part of the Saddle Ridge Hoard. As of this writing, 604 gold coins are listed for sale on Amazon.com and 64 gold coins are listed for sale on Kagins.com.
Broken out by type, the hoard consists of 1,373 $20 Double Eagles, 50 $10 gold coins and 4 $5 gold coins.
Wow, lucky people
Premium prices, as expected. Nice lot. Wish I had the money to own one or two. The NCGS slabbing is a great idea, nice touch.