With more than $75 million dollars in rare coins having sold at the pre-ANA and ANA auctions, it is inevitable that some amazing individual pieces might have been lost in the shuffle. One coin that hasn’t received much publicity is the 1875 eagle in the Stack’s-Bowers sale (lot 7732 and graded AU-53+ by PCGS) that brought $345,000.

You’ve no doubt read a dozen ANA Show Reports already and I swore I’d never write one again. But I did want to give some thoughts about the recently-concluded ANA show in Rosemont as I think a good understanding of what happened there is essential to understanding the market. I had a very good show. Not a “great” show or an “all-time” one as I’ve read a few people write.

If you had asked me just last week how this year’s ANA show was going to turn out, I’d have told you it was going to be an unqualified success. But with the recent topsy-turvy (to say the least…) state of the stock market and economic fears in general, I’m afraid I may have to temper my earlier views. Somewhat. I still think this year’s ANA is going to be successful.

A few years ago I had a hard time believing that gold would ever cross the $1000 threshold. Today, it exceeded $1700 per ounce before retreating, and it seems inevitable that it will break the $2000 mark sometime this year. What impact will this record-shattering price have on the rare gold coin market? I see the impact of high-priced gold in a number of ways.

There is no getting around the fact that doctoring of rare United States gold coins is a problem in the market. Doctoring is not new. I’ve heard stories of American collectors and dealers “messing” with coins as far back as a century ago, and I have no doubt that the problem dates back even further in Europe.

It’s time for another question, this one from reader D.J. of Santa Barbara. D.J. asked the following question: “I know you’ve handled a ton of coins in your career. What are some of the coins that you haven’t handled?” Ahh…thanks, D.J. Make me look like a rookie and tell you what I haven’t handled; not all the great coins I’ve handled!