Higher than face value

When Adam Crum sizes up investment options, for both personal and

professional portfolios, he goes straight for the gold.

Crum, vice president of numismatic sales at Monaco Financial in

Newport Beach, collects gold coins, mostly from the Civil War era.

“I like tangibles -- coins and real estate,” he said. “The economy

is driving the coin market, making it a good time to invest.”

And Crum’s investment choices underscore the importance of product

scarcity.

Among the coins Crum has purchased for his company are some rare

Type I Double Eagles, which were the first American $20 gold pieces.

Minted from 1849 to 1866 in Philadelphia, San Francisco and New

Orleans, only a handful of the coins are known to still exist, Crum

said.

He estimates the company’s Double Eagles collection at $10

million.

Forty-five coins -- from Monaco’s collection, Crum’s personal

inventory and his clients’ catalogs -- will be on display beginning

Thursday at the Long Beach Coin, Stamp and Collectibles Expo. The

tri-annual event attracts about 2,000 dealers and collectors from

across the country.

About 80% of the show’s inventory is composed of coins, according

to expo operations manager Sharlee Limjoco.

“Usually, collections are worth about $1 million,” Limjoco said.

“So $10 million is a pretty big deal. We’re excited to have the gold

coins at the show.”

Crum said this is a boom time for those in the rare-coin industry.

Case in point: A Gold Rush-era coin recently sold for $253,000 at a

Beverly Hills auction.

Crum estimates he could fetch $1 million for one of his most

prized coins. It originated from a mint in New Orleans and was lost

at sea along with hundreds of other gold and silver coins when the

cargo ship Republic capsized off the coast of Georgia during a

hurricane in 1865.

Two years ago, an expedition team recovered many of the rare coins

from the ocean floor. The overall collection is valued at more than

$75 million.

Crum said the 1864 New Orleans coin is the marquee coin in that

collection. It is not currently for sale and will be going into a

maritime museum.

On the Double Eagles, Lady Liberty is pictured on one side, with a

crest and an eagle on the other. The coin is often called “No Motto,”

because the phrase “In God We Trust” is not written anywhere on it.

Most of the coins were destroyed shortly after they were minted.

The Double Eagles are considered one of the most valued coins in

United States history.

Marc Crane, chief executive officer of Marc One Numismatics

Incorporated, said there are a variety of gold coins at the expo.

“Everything there is extremely rare -- you want to send people to

look at that,” Crane said.

Crum, a coin collector since his high school days, has written a

book on the subject: “An Insider’s Guide to Collecting Type I Double

Eagles.” He considers himself a history buff and enjoys reading

anything about the Gold Rush era.

“I’m one of those people who are fortunate to have their passion

become their work,” Crum said.

IF YOU GO

* WHAT: Long Beach Coin, Stamp and Collectibles Expo

* WHEN: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday.

* WHERE: Long Beach Convention Center, 100 S. Pine Ave., Long

Beach

* COST: $6 general admission; $4 for people 65 and older; free for

children 7 and under.

* CONTACT: (562) 499-7745

* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at

[email protected].