In 1831, Christopher Bechtler (along with his sons, August and Charles) announced that he would process raw gold into coins and ingots. In 1832, he announced that a $1 gold coin would also be available. It was not until 1849, 17 years later, that the U.S. Mint began to issue $1 gold coins.

Using equipment that they made themselves, including a roller, screw press and dies, the Bechtlers struck both $2.50 and $5 coins. Their coin designs were simple, having only the Bechtler name, the value, purity, and location.

Because their coins were not copies of coins produced by the U.S. Mint, Bechtler’s coins were not considered counterfeit. The U.S. Mint repeatedly tested Bechtler coins; finding in each case that they contained the amount of gold claimed and were, therefore, of equal (and sometimes superior) value to U.S. coins of the same denominations. As Bechtler coins made their way into the market they became so popular that in many cases they were preferred over U.S. coins. For some years they were more abundant in the south than U.S. coins.

We are very excited to announce the acquisition of a million dollar collection of coins.This collection consists of nearly 30 coins, a few being date or grade rarities and most of them being both. Tom Caldwell, the president of Northeast, was offered the collection and given a chance to view it in person while in California attending the Long Beach Coin Expo last month. An offer was submitted and we were later awarded the opportunity to buy it. 

We now have this amazing collection of coins listed individually for sale at Northeastcoin.com. Every coin qualifies as a highlight, so we won't list them all here. However, there is a teaser list below. Head to our website to view them all.

Northeast is always interested in buying and not every deal has to be a seven figure deal. Big collection or small, we will buy it and we often do travel when the collections warrants it. While this recent collection consisted of high grade, low population rarities, we are active buyers in every day collector coins, rolls, modern material, world coinage, and everything else you see listed on our website. 

Please keep us in mind when the time comes for you to sell part or all of your collection. Thank you!

1898 Barber Quarter NGC PF69 Cameo

1839-O Bust Half Dollar NGC MS65

1858 Seated Dollar NGC PF65 Cameo CAC

1880 Trade Dollar NGC PF68* Cameo

1893-CC Morgan Dollar NGC MS65

1852-C Gold Dollar NGC MS65

1869 Gold Dollar NGC MS68 CAC

1900 Gold Quarter Eagle NGC PF68* Ultra Cameo CAC

1908 Gold Quarter Eagle NGC PF67

1880 Gold Three Dollar PCGS PR65 Cameo CAC

1883 Gold Half Eagle NGC PF67 Ultra Cameo CAC

We just purchased 50 unopened 1961 proof sets still in the original mailing box from the U.S. Mint. Brian volunteered to open them all up and check out the Franklins to see if any of them are one of the three Doubled Die Reverse varieties. He's also checking the Washingtons to see if they are the DDO variety. 

Here he is "hard" at work. 17 down with no luck thus far.

The proof 1961 Franklin with the strong reverse doubling (FS-801) is the key Cherrypicker variety of all the Franklins. As you can see below, the doubling is easily detectable to the naked eye. The other two varieties, FS-802 and FS-803, require a loupe, as does the Doubled Die Obverse Quarter (FS-101).

...our new office! Over the past two weeks we have been in the process of moving to a new location. We're still in Concord and in fact are just down the street from our old office. The new office provides us with much needed space.

As every single reader of this blog post knows, moving is not a fun process and our move was no exception. The amount of "stuff" that can accumulate over twenty years in the same place is amazing. But everyone chipped in and we got it done. We've got weeks if not longer of unpacking and organizing ahead of us, but things are now starting to run fairly smoothly and we are back to business as usual. 

For those interested, we've included several pictures of the old office as it got cleared out and also some shots of the new office.

Moving Day #1

Moving Day #2

Here are some shots of our new place...

Our break room. (As if we take breaks!)

Our conference room where we meet with customers.

Marne's office. The I Want To Believe X-Files poster is just out of the picture.

Here's Brian's area. He got the sweetest desk from the whole move.

Christy and Russell share one big office. Here's Christy's shipping area.

And here's Russell's (eBay and submission) area.

Chris' office. He likes it dark.

And finally, Tom's office. If it looks familiar, check out the post titled A Stand Up Guy from last year.

Thanks for looking!

Hmmm...how did this get here???

The Dahlonega Mint was a former branch of the United States Mint built during the Georgia Gold Rush to help the miners get their gold assayed and minted, without having to travel to the Philadelphia Mint. It was located in Dahlonega, Lumpkin County, Georgia. Coins produced at the Dahlonega Mint bear the "D" mint mark. That mint mark is used today by the Denver Mint, which opened many years after the Dahlonega Mint closed. All coins from the Dahlonega Mint are gold, in the $1, $2.50, $3, and $5 denominations, and bear dates in the range 1838–1861.

One of the rarest, perhaps even the rarest, coins struck at this Mint is the 1861-D Gold Dollar. The mintage is estimated to be between 1,000 and 1,500 coins. The exact mintage is not known since they were struck by the Confederacy who had already taken over the Mint. An estimated 75 coins are extant.