About a month ago, I received an auction catalog from Olivier Chaponniere and Hess-Divo, two well-known Swiss firms located in Geneva and Switzerland, respectively. I often toss these catalogs directly into the recycling bin but thought I’d check this one out; if only because Hess-Divo has the reputation of selling some exceptional ancient and European coins. I went right to the United States gold section and started browsing.   
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I often (OK, not “often” but at least “occasionally…”) get asked the question “what kind of coins do you collect?” I don’t currently collect coins because I think that, as a dealer, being a collector is an inherent conflict; I don’t ever want to have an internal debate with myself about whether or not I should sell a coin that I buy. But I do have a pretty good idea about what I would collect if I were actually collecting.   
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If I had to list my favorite United States gold coins, the 1845-O quarter eagle would be at the top of the list. This is an issue that I like for a variety of reasons. It’s rare, it’s enigmatic and it has an interesting numismatic background. After striking a comparatively large number of quarter eagles in 1843, the New Orleans mint did not produce any in 1844.   
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S.S. New York Coin Auction – I recently learned that the coins from the shipwreck S.S. New York will be sold by Stack’s in July at this firm’s pre-ANA auction. Unlike some of the other shipwrecks that have been uncovered in recent years, the coins found on the S.S. New York will have an impact on the branch mint gold market. According to information gleaned from the NGC website, the S.S.   
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Need to get the rest of the article from Mary. In a recent blog (July 30, 2007) I discussed my criteria for what constitutes “originality.” Using this criteria, how available are Charlotte, Dahlonega and New Orleans gold coins? In the first of what may be a multi-part series of articles, I’m going to look at C, D and O mint gold dollars and discuss their availability with original surfaces and color.  
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Since I reopened Douglas Winter Numismatics (DWN) in February 2006, a primary focus of mine has been New Orleans gold coinage. I have focused on this area for a number of reasons. The most obvious is, of course, the fact that my new book on New Orleans gold coinage is expected to be released this summer and it seemed like a natural to drum up interest for the book by selling the appropriate coins.   
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