By Charles Morgan for CoinWeek …..
Heritage Auctions concluded a highly successful U.S. coin auction at the 2025 Winter Florida United Numismatists (FUN) Show to start the numismatic calendar year. Heritage’s FUN sale is a bellwether for the strength of the market, and with five coins selling for more than a million dollars each and a $65.4 million total haul, indications are that the hobby is entering the year in a healthy state, continuing a trend that began in 2020.
I want to share a few insights into five highlights from the sale that you should pay attention to.
1. 1894-S Barber Dime – Realized $2.16 Million
Heritage Auctions’ January 2025 FUN Sale was headlined by the 1894-S Barber Dime, a storied rarity that is ranked in the top 10 of Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth’s 100 Greatest U.S. Coins (6th Ed., 2024). Coin collectors dream of owning one, in part due to its limited mintage of just 24 pieces. Nobody knows for certain why the San Francisco Mint struck 24 dimes in 1894. Adding to the intrigue is that these were Proofs, and not the typical business strikes that the San Francisco Mint would have normally produced. While modern collectors are familiar with the Proof coins the San Francisco Mint has struck since 1968, it was the purview of the Philadelphia Mint to produce special versions of its coins for collectors in 1894.
In recent decades, the 1894-S Barber Dime has been firmly implanted in the milieu of of million-dollar rarities. When collector Bruce Morelan acquired the Eliasberg example in 2021, Laura Sperber, his partner at Legend Rare Coin Auctions, said that he “now owns the trifecta of United States numismatics: an 1804 Draped Bust Dollar, a 1913 Liberty Head Nickel, and an 1894-S Barber Dime.”
Morelan paid $1.8 million for his example in a deal that was brokered by Kevin Lipton and CAC founder John Albanese.
The example that Heritage offered in this sale is one of two owned by famed collector John Clapp and acquired by Louis Eliasberg in 1942 with the assistance of Stack’s. Other owners include “Just Having Fun’s” Dan Rosenthal and James A. Stack (no relation). This example is usually listed as the finest, though it is tied with one other coin.
CoinWeek filmed its last auction appearance, where the coin sold for $1,997,500. When one factors inflation, that sale price would be the equivalent of $2,661,000 in today’s dollars, which means that in the span of nine years, this 1894-S Barber Dime has shed about 18% of its value.
For more information on the 1894-S Barber Dime, check out Greg Reynold’s “The Story of the 1894-S Barber Dime”.
2. 1927-D Saint Gaudens Double Eagle – Realized $3.84 Million
![1927-D Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle. Image: GreatCollections.](https://i0.wp.com/coinweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1927-D_Saint-Gaudens_Double_Eagle_GC.webp?resize=1200%2C675&ssl=1)
In a post-auction press release, Ian Russell of GreatCollections announced that his firm was the winning bidder of Heritage Auctions’ offering of the finest-known 1927-D Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle. The company paid $3.84 million for the coin, which now belongs in a collection that includes the only legal-to-own 1933 Double Eagle, a coin that his firm acquired for a record $18.9 million in 2021.
This example is a high-quality Gem, among the finest, but not the finest known for the issue. The 1927-D Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle became rare when all but about 15 of the 180,000 struck were culled after the Roosevelt Administration recalled gold coins in 1933 as part of his plan to combat the Great Depression.
This example has trade hands at least four times in the past 20 years and has floated around the grades MS65 before settling at the current MS65+ (PCGS CAC). Greg Reynolds reviewed the coin multiple times in person, writing of the piece that “[i]ts grade is just about in the middle of the 65 range and it is a very attractive coin.”
The coin’s $3.84 million price is a strong price and much higher than the $3.1 million that Witter Coin received for the PCGS MS66+ CAC Eliasberg specimen when it sold it via private treaty in August 2021.
Clearly, the market for rare gold is strong at the moment.
3. 1849-C Gold Dollar, Open Wreath – Realized $1.56 Million
![1849-C Gold Dollar, Open Wreath. Image: Heritage Auctions/CoinWeek.](https://i0.wp.com/coinweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1849-C_Gold_Dollar_HA.webp?resize=1200%2C675&ssl=1)
The 1849-C Open Wreath Gold Dollar is the rarest Charlotte Mint gold coin and was an important target for mega-collector Dell Loy Hansen, who needed the coin to complete his Charlotte Mint gold coin collection. Hansen is on a quest to surpass the great Louis Eliasberg by building a registry-quality set of every standard issue U.S. coin struck since 1792.
Commenting on the important purchase, John Brush, President of DLRC wrote: “The opportunity to acquire this elusive rarity was the cherry on top of this fantastic [Charlotte Mint] collection. Having grown up less than two hours from the original Charlotte Mint, these issues have always held a special interest for me.”
The $1.56 million sale price set a record for the issue. The coin is one of just four known of the variety and the only example known in Mint State. A PCGS AU58 coin is the discovery coin, another example grades PCGS XF40, and the fourth is a well-worn piece that retains damage from a jewelry mount.
To complete the “Super Eliasberg” set, Hansen is going to face numerous head-to-head matchups for super-rare and conditionally rare coins. Completion will not be as much about having the funds but about having the opportunity. Brush and Hansen did not hesitate when their only shot to get this amazing example presented itself.
4. 1884 Trade Dollar – Realized $1.14 Million
![1884 Trade Dollar. Image: Heritage Auctions/CoinWeek.](https://i0.wp.com/coinweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1884_Trade_Dollar_HA.webp?resize=1200%2C675&ssl=1)
With the silver dollar falling out of favor by the early 1870s, Congress authorized production of a Trade Dollar to facilitate trade in Asia. The Trade Dollar was a 420-grain, .900 fine silver coin struck primarily in San Francisco. When Congress overrode President Rutherford B. Hayes’ veto in 1878, the Silver Dollar returned. This doomed the trade coin, which from 1879 onward was struck exclusively in Proof for collectors.
Trade Dollar Proofs struck between 1879 and 1883 are collectible. While mintages are low by today’s standards, they frequently appear at auction and in dealer inventories. The same cannot be said for 1884 and 1885 issues, which have mintages of 10 and five, respectively.
The 1884 Trade Dollar offered by Heritage is traced to Philadelphia Mint Superintendent A. Loudon Snowden. It’s first major sale appearance was in Numismatic Gallery’s “Adolphe Menjou” sale. Menjou was the “John Voight” of his day and had some interest in numismatics – though the Menjou sale was a hype job, as few of the coins in that offering were actually from the actor’s holdings. Collectors who have actually owned this piece were W.G. Baldenhofer, Samuel Wolfson, and Jack Lee. This specimen saw a 39% increase in value between 2005 and 2014, and has seen a 15% retreat in the decade since.
Perhaps the market for trophy Trade Dollar Proofs is not as competitive now. Be that as it may, the buyer of this piece has a great American rarity with strong upside.
5. 1943 Lincoln Copper Penny – Realized $264,000
![1943 Lincoln Copper Penny. Image: Heritage Auctions/CoinWeek.](https://i0.wp.com/coinweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1943_Lincoln_Copper_Penny_HA.webp?resize=1200%2C675&ssl=1)
The 1943 Lincoln Copper Penny is one of the most coveted American coins of the 20th century. While ordinary in appearance (one expects pre-1982 Lincoln Cents to be struck in Copper), this extraordinary coin was supposed to be struck on a silvery-white, zinc-plated steel planchet. This change was made in 1943 to preserve copper for the war effort. Unfortunately, the zinc-plated steel experiment was a failure, and in 1944, the Treasury Department switched back to copper.
1943 copper cents were struck at all three Mints, with the 1943-D being unique. The Philadelphia issues, which do not carry a mintmark underneath the date, are most frequently encountered. This does not change the fact that they are quite rare, however, with about only 20 known. The example in the Heritage FUN auction is graded PCGS AU55 and shows just trace amounts of wear. As rare a circulation find as a Wonka golden ticket, the $264,000 price trails just behind its inflation-adjusted 2021 Central States hammer price, when it appeared in an NGC AU55 CAC holder as part of the Partrick Collection. That sale included two 1943 copper cents.
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By Charles Morgan for CoinWeek …..
Heritage Auctions concluded a highly successful U.S. coin auction at the 2025 Winter Florida United Numismatists (FUN) Show to start the numismatic calendar year. Heritage’s FUN sale is a bellwether for the strength of the market, and with five coins selling for more than a million dollars each and a $65.4 million total haul, indications are that the hobby is entering the year in a healthy state, continuing a trend that began in 2020.
I want to share a few insights into five highlights from the sale that you should pay attention to.
1. 1894-S Barber Dime – Realized $2.16 Million