Rare Coin Investor

100 Year Anniversary!

While Paris was being bombed for the first time by German Zeppelins and Woodrow Wilson was President, three gold denomination of coins were minted in 1916; the $5.00, $10.00 & $20.00. San Francisco was the only mint that produced gold coins that year.

The 100th anniversary of this historically significant year in World History is upon us. Centennial coins often do well near their 100th anniversary. For example, the 1892 Columbian ½ dollar went up over 1000% near its 100th anniversary.
Centennial Coins perform well no matter the trends of the market. Over the past few years these have become increasingly difficult to obtain.

1916-S $20 Saint Gaudens

Mint: San Francisco, Mintage: 796,000, Composition: Gold, Fineness: 0.9000, Weight: 33.4360g, AGW: 0.9675oz, Diameter: 34mm

The 1916-S seems to have been minted to a very high standard of quality. The strike is almost always very sharp and the surfaces, although they occasionally show signs of very fine granularity, do not have the metal flow problems encountered on many examples of the 1915-S. Luster is always very good to excellent and the color is usually a very appealing rich greenish gold, sometimes with a light orange or coppery tint. High-grade examples of this issue invariably have great “eye appeal.”

1916-S $10.00 Indian

Mint: San Francisco, Mintage: 138,500, Composition: Gold, Fineness: 0.9000, Weight: 16.7180g, AGW: 0.4837oz, Diameter: 27mm

This date and mint was well represented in the European banks and examples continue to be found there. Most seen however are at the lower end of the Mint State range with Choice and Gem examples quite scarce. The date is usually found well struck with subdued luster. The Smithsonian collection contains two Superb Gem examples, one of which would easily grade MS 67. The Norweb coin appears to be the finest example in private hands.

1916-S $5.00 Indian

Mint: San Francisco, Mintage: 240,000, Obverse Designer: Bela Lyon Pratt, Reverse Designer: Bela Lyon Pratt, Composition: Gold, Fineness: 0.9000, Weight: 8.3590g, AGW: 0.2419oz, Diameter: 21.6mm, Edge: Reeded

Due to the existence of a small hoard of approximately 200 pieces that surfaced a few years ago, it is possible to locate this issue in MS-63 or lower grade with only a moderate amount of difficulty. Since the hoard did not contain any gem or even MS-64 quality coins that I am aware of, at the higher levels this date is still quite rare, although it is more often available in MS-65 condition than any San Francisco Mint Indian Head $5 other than the 1908-S. There are several MS-65+ specimens known and a few others that might even reasonably be called “Superb.”
The 1916-S is invariably well struck and the mint mark is bold but lacking definition. Most of the known Mint State specimens are from the same hoard, and they typically have frosty, very finely granular surfaces and only average lustre. A few pieces (not from the hoard) have excellent lustre and surfaces that, while not exactly as satiny as some 1908-S or 1915-S specimens, are more satiny than frosty. Most of the hoard coins have a light greenish gold and orange toning. Other examples of this issue vary from bright yellow gold to rose colored gold to a medium coppery color.

Posted on December 16, 2015 at 11:26 am in Uncategorized   |  RSS feed |   Reply   |   Trackback URL