Having recently handled a considerable number of impressive Proof gold coins, I’ve been thinking about when a specific coin is worth a premium because of is status as a Deep Cameo (PCGS’ modifier) or Ultra Cameo (NGC’s modifier). After a brief explanation of these terms, I’d like to use a few examples of the coins I’ve sold to illustrate scenarios in which I feel a premium is merited.   
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As someone who handles a decent amount of rare and interesting Proof gold coinage, I’ve been thinking about survival rates. I’d like to share some thoughts about typical survival rates and why certain issues don’t comply with the “basic laws.” First, a little background.   
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Without a lot of fanfare, Proof gold coins have become a strong area of the market. In this blog, I’d like to postulate as to why Proof gold coins have become so avidly desired, which Proof coins are currently in greatest demand and what the short-term outlook is for Proof gold. To understand the current Proof gold market, it is important to understand the market over the past decade.   
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It’s been a longstanding tradition of mine to write a What’s Hot/What’s Not blog a few times a year. The last time I did this was, I believe, around the beginning of 2009. A lot has changed since then and, as we head into the summer, I’d like to share my thoughts about the coin market in general and United States gold coins to be more specific.   
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When viewing mintage figures, most numismatists exclaim that a coin is “rare” because only 10,000 or so were produced. But this figure seems almost laughable in comparison to the mintages for Proof gold coins struck prior to 1900. In fact, many of these issues have mintages that were lower than 100 coins. Proof gold was struck for collectors every year from 1858 until 1915.   
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For those of us who experienced the coin market’s ups and downs in the 1980’s and 1990’s, perhaps the biggest surprise has been the relatively quiet Proof gold market of the past few years. While prices for Proof gold have certainly risen since the beginning of this decade, new collectors don’t seem to regard these coins with the same degree of awe that was seen in the recent past.   
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