The topsy-turvy, on-again, off-again conflict in the Persian Gulf continues, but the markets are moving on. This is certainly true of the rare coin market and the gold market.

A variety of rare coins have turned in remarkable results on the auction market in recent days. While gold has settled a touch lower this week, the price of gold rose last week for the 4th week in a row despite the dollar strengthening since the onset of the Iranian conflict.

The auction market for rare coins has continued with strong performances across foreign coins, ancient coins, and U.S. coins. Several highlights for U.S. coins are as follows: Auctions saw record prices in multiple categories, from Lincoln cents and Peace dollars to Southern gold and Proof-only rarities.

The top highlight was a Gem Proof 1882 Liberty Head double eagle, graded Proof-66 Deep Cameo, which realized $810,000. That price more than doubled its previous public benchmark of $293,750.

The Lincoln cent section produced two of the auction’s most notable prices.

A 1926-S Lincoln cent graded MS-64+ RD by PCGS realized $72,000, a record for the grade.

Then the illustrious 1943-S Lincoln cent struck on a bronze planchet, graded AU-55 by PCGS, climbed to $456,000.

That result more than doubled the coin’s $211,500 price from a 2016 FUN (Florida United Numismatists) auction. The auction moved beyond copper. The 1922 Peace silver dollar Modified High Relief Production Trial, Judd-2020, graded Proof-63 by PCGS, brought $252,000. That coin had not appeared at auction in more than 40 years. A Proof-66 Cameo 1860 Liberty Head quarter eagle sold at $120,000 and the famed Atwater-Carter-Kramer 1875 three-dollar gold piece in Proof-64 Cameo sold at $264,000, a record for a Cameo example.

An 1899 Liberty Head eagle, graded Proof-67 Deep Cameo by PCGS, realized $264,000. That price beat the prior public auction record of $149,500. A 1908 Saint-Gaudens double eagle with Motto, graded Proof-67 by NGC sold for a record $324,000.

Then came two Civil War-era half eagles that underscored how aggressively bidders pursued fresh, high-grade Southern gold. The Elrod 1861-C Liberty Head half eagle, graded MS-63 by PCGS, brought $408,000, nearly double the previous public record of $164,500 from December 2020. The Eliasberg 1861-D Liberty Head half eagle, also graded MS-63 by PCGS, matched that $408,000 level. Another MS-63 example sold for $336,000 in 2024.

These auction results have significant implications for the rare coin market. Demand reached across multiple areas of the market. Copper performed. Silver performed. Proof gold performed. Southern gold performed. European gold performed. Auctions on two separate continents set new records. That breadth matters and shows that demand for historic tangible assets in the current economic environment is strong.

In ancient coin news, both the auctions in the United States and Europe continue to show significant enthusiasm, especially for the top end rarities of Rome and Greece. My newly expanded second edition of Gold Coins of Ancient Rome is going to print this month and is available with a special offer below. I can’t express my opinion strongly enough on the scale this segment appeals on the global collector stage. It is one of the most exciting segments of numismatics and is more fun than one can imagine.

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