California Fractional Gold Boom

Over the last two years I've noticed that heavily circulated Carson City and early San Francisco gold coins are getting hard to find, and more expensive when they do show up. High end pieces are still readily available.

These coins and the fractionals are scarce and have regional interest. They're like Dahlonega and Charlotte gold, but scarcer and much less expensive. When one of them sells and disappears into a collection it's a long time before another one surfaces. That unique 1/4 dollar fractional had not changed hands for 40 years.

I've followed Charlotte gold on and off for 30 years, watching it inflate in value. My old copy of Winter's book shows populations much smaller than they are now. As prices rise, more examples pop out of forgotten places. The Charlotte prices have never really dropped, instead stabilizing at a higher level, with a lot more in the market.

I have seen the same thing happen with Carson City gold. The 1891-cc eagle I bought for $350 in the mid 1990's would cost $2000 right now. Maybe I should have kept it.