In early September 2026, an American 20 dollar gold coin from 1879 sold for 2,562,000 dollars. The sale took place during the major coin auctions held by Heritage Auctions from 31 August to 5 September. So the news is a few weeks old, but the story behind it remains interesting for anyone with old gold coins in a drawer.
A coin that never circulated
The coin is a so called 1879 Liberty Head Quintuple Stella. It is not an ordinary coin but a pattern. In the late 1870s, the Americans were looking for a way to base their gold coins on a metric standard, so they would fit better into international trade. A few trial pieces were struck for that purpose. The plan was never carried out, and the coin never entered circulation.
Only five examples are known today. One is held in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian in Washington. The other four are in private hands. The example that sold was graded PR64+ Deep Cameo by the grading service PCGS, a sign that it still looks exceptionally good after almost a century and a half. It came from the collection of the American Bob R. Simpson and was once owned by Virgil Brand, a legendary collector of the past.
The previous auction record for the type was 2.16 million dollars, set in 2025, also at Heritage.
Not the only million dollar coin that week
In the same auctions, four more American coins went above one million dollars:
| Coin | Price realised |
|---|---|
| 1879 Coiled Hair Stella (4 dollars) | 1,891,000 dollars |
| 1824/1 Quarter Eagle (2.5 dollars) | 1,494,500 dollars |
| 1876 Double Eagle, unique pattern | 1,403,000 dollars |
| 1880 Coiled Hair Stella (4 dollars) | 1,189,500 dollars |
According to CoinNews, all of that week’s auctions together brought in about 67.18 million dollars.
Why rarity outweighs gold
An ordinary American 20 dollar gold coin, the Double Eagle, contains almost one ounce of pure gold. At the gold price of late September, around 4,160 dollars per ounce, that gold is worth about 4,000 dollars. The Quintuple Stella fetched more than six hundred times as much. The gold in the coin barely plays a part in that price.
So what does? Four things at once. The coin is extremely rare: five pieces, of which only four can ever come up for sale. It is a pattern with a history of its own. Its condition is exceptional. And its provenance is known, through names that collectors recognise. Take away any one of those four and the price falls quickly.
What this means if you want to sell old gold coins
The honest answer: an ordinary 20 dollar gold piece, a Napoleon or a Belgian 20 franc coin is not a Quintuple Stella. Those coins were struck in the millions. When sold, they are valued mainly on their gold content, sometimes with a small premium. The difference between gold valued for its metal and gold with extra value is explained on our page about investment gold and scrap gold.
Still, it pays to look closely. An old collection sometimes holds a scarcer year, a coin from a small mint or a piece in remarkably good condition. That is why it matters that a buyer first recognises your coins before pricing them by weight. On our page about gold coins you will find what to look for, coin by coin.
Never clean an old coin collection before having it looked at. Polishing leaves scratches, and for coins with collector value that can push the price down considerably.
New coins sometimes get a story of their own too, such as the Belga Gold, the first Belgian gold bullion coin. But an auction record like that of the Quintuple Stella remains an exception. Above all, it shows that a coin can be worth far more than the gold it is made of, as long as it is rare enough.