The Eric Newman collection of 1,800 exceptional examples of US rare coins sold at auction this past week for more than $23,000,000! Not bad for a $7,500 investment!!

As a Grand Rapids coin dealer, I was an active bidder for some of these exceptional coins. The bidding was fierce and I was outbid by record prices on nearly every lot. Rare coin prices are STRONG!

For the seasoned collector, the Eric Newman collection was remarkable in many ways. Perhaps the most impressive characteristic was the exceptional condition and originality of some of the finest known examples of classic American coinage. Never dipped, never cleaned, handled with care for 100 to 200 years, many of these coins are the finest known examples of the date and type – if not the finest known. Others were pristine examples with wonderful eye appeal… and collectors around the world were bidding feverishly to acquire lots for their personal collections.

Rarities included an 1852 $10 Humbert California Gold that sold for $1,527,500, and a rare 1796 quarter-dollar (that Newman bought for $100) that sold for $1,527,500. The group also included a 1795 U.S. silver dollar that sold for $910,625, and another dated 1799 that sold for $822,500. All were representative of the overall quality of the Eric Newman collection. 

The sale was conducted in New York by rare coin auction house Heritage Auctions. Heritage estimates that Mr. Newman, who began collecting coins in the 1930s, invested about $7,500 for the collection that sold for $23,000,000.

To see and read more about these wonderful coins, visit the Heritage Auction Gallery site.