Speaking of Coins

As we enter the spring months, we are getting a feel for how the year might be shaping up for the hobby. So far, it appears the marketplace, though not as feverish as in 2021 or 2022, is still the healthiest it has been in years. The Heritage Auction event at the Florida United Numismatists Show in Orlando, Florida, in January realized $76 million, with 10 coins going for $1 million or more. The topselling coin of that event, the PCGS SP50 Engraved $3 gold coin – a unique piece that hadn’t crossed an auction block in more than four decades – hammered for an astounding $5,520,000. We’ll see what the big spring auctions can drum up, but enthusiasm across the market remains strong and this surely portends more good things will be blooming in the months ahead. While we await the springtime warmup, we hope you’ll enjoy this edition of PCGS Market Report, which delivers exciting news about the Top 100 Modern Coins PCGS Registry Set – one of the most popular of our contemporary set challenges.

Looking for a new PCGS Set Registry endeavor? Don’t forget about the charming Franklin Half Dollar, which is turning 75 years old and is covered in a colorful article that takes a deep dive on the short-lived but exciting mid-century series. Peter Anthony reveals some of the prettiest city scenes on Chinese coinage, and Doug Winter provides his commentary on the million-dollar 1875 Liberty Head Eagle.

Know what else is bound to set records on the auction block? Many of the selections from the James A. Millholland Collection. This incredible cabinet, built well more than a century ago, is filled with classic U.S. coinage that was acquired and curated by a successful railroad executive who had a voracious appetite for numismatics. All of the coins from the set haven’t been on the market since the turn of the 20th century and are being offered by Stack’s Bowers Galleries, giving collectors a truly once-in-alifetime opportunity to obtain some true treasures. One of them, a magnificent 1865 Liberty Seated Dollar graded PCGS PR66+, serves as the PCGS Coin of the Issue. Also featured in this issue are columns from all of your favorite PCGS experts, including Jay Turner, Kyle Knapp, Jaime Hernandez, Sanjay Gandhi, Vic Bozarth, Mark Ferguson, and Philip Thomas. Plus, you’ll get acquainted with Curt Gammer, an entrepreneurial young numismatist who has turned his passion for coins into an incredibly successful business venture.

We take time to pause and remember two hobby greats who have exhibited with PCGS in recent years and sadly passed away in recent months. Stewart Blay and Walter J. Husak, both longtime PCGS Set Registry fixtures whose collections astounded all who saw them, left this world and we honor their memory and all they did for our hobby and their fellow collectors.

May the spring bring good things for all of us… Perhaps we’ll see you April 26-29 at the Central States Numismatic Society Show in Schaumburg, Illinois, where we will also be hosting a faceoff between the magnificent J&L and Escalante Collections of classic commemorative coins!

As always, we thank you for your loyalty and support!

Cheers,

Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez Editor-in-Chief, PCGS Market Report