In less than one week, the James A. Stack, Sr. Collection, Part II will return to the public marketplace. The auction gives collectors a rare opportunity to acquire 128 U.S. gold coins valued at more than $10 million.
Importantly, all coins have remained off the market since 1951, the year James A. Stack, Sr. passed away. In fact, many of these coins last appeared at auction more than a century ago.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries will conduct the auction on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. The sale will take place at Griffin Studios inside the firm’s international headquarters in Costa Mesa, California. Live bidding will begin at 12:00 PM Pacific Time.
A Major Offering of U.S. Gold Coin Rarities
Part II introduces, and in several cases reintroduces, important U.S. gold rarities to the market. Individual coins carry values ranging from tens of thousands of dollars into the millions.
James A. Stack, Sr. began collecting coins in the late 1930s. He set out to build the most complete U.S. coin collection his time and resources would allow. By the mid-1940s, his holdings already included advanced collections of U.S. coins, U.S. paper currency, ancient coins, and world issues.
Between 1975 and 1995, Stack’s Rare Coins, an unrelated firm, sold most of these holdings in a series of public auctions.
Coins Hidden from the Market for Decades
However, a small but important group of several hundred coins never entered those sales. Mr. Stack’s descendants retained these pieces privately for decades.
Among them was a previously unrecorded Class III 1804 silver dollar. That coin remained unknown to the numismatic community since the 1940s.
Stack’s Bowers Galleries revealed the coin publicly during its December 9, 2025 auction of Part I. The dollar realized $6 million, accounting for a substantial share of the $15 million in total prices realized during that sale.
According to Vicken Yegparian, Executive Vice President of Stack’s Bowers Galleries, the auction series serves a broader purpose.
“The goal of the James A. Stack auctions is not only to find a new generation of buyers for Mr. Stack’s coins,” Yegparian said. “We also want to preserve, promote, and revivify his legacy in numismatics for generations to come.”
Yegparian noted that Part I drew strong market interest. Early silver dollars and double eagles achieved record prices in December.
He added that Part II includes gold dollars through $10 eagles, along with Territorial gold coins. At the time of cataloging, many lots had already attracted strong bidding. Final prices, however, will depend on results realized during the live auction.
The 1798 Small Eagle $5 Returns After 80 Years
The cover lot of the auction is the Earle (1912)–Atwater (1946) example of the 1798 Small Eagle $5. Only five examples exist in private hands.
For decades, uncertainty surrounded this coin. Poor early auction photographs and its long absence from the market caused confusion over its identity. Some numismatists questioned whether it matched a specimen discovered in the 1990s.
That question ended when the coin emerged from the James A. Stack, Sr. Collection after nearly 80 years out of public view.
The coin grades AU-53 (PCGS) and remains the only CAC-verified example. It represents the fourth of five privately held specimens, and the fifth of seven known overall, handled by Stack’s Bowers Galleries or its predecessor firms during the past century. The auction will determine its final price.
Indian Head $10 Eagles Among the Highlights
The Stack Collection includes several notable Indian Head $10 eagles.
One highlight is a 1907 Rounded Rims $10 eagle. Only about 50 examples avoided melting. The Stack coin grades MS-67 (PCGS) and carries CAC CMQ approval. It ranks among the finest survivors of this early Saint-Gaudens issue.
The auction also features a 1911-D $10 eagle, graded MS-66 (PCGS) CAC CMQ. At the time of cataloging, it stands as the sole finest-certified example at either major grading service. Modern numismatists had no knowledge of this coin before its discovery in the Stack Collection.
Additionally, the offering includes a 1933 $10 Indian Head eagle. Collectors generally regard this issue as the only ownable U.S. gold coin dated 1933. Scholars estimate that 50 to 60 examples survive. The Stack specimen, graded MS-66 (PCGS), ranks among the finest certified by either major service.
Territorial Gold with Historic Provenance
The James A. Stack, Sr. Collection also includes a remarkable group of fresh-to-market Territorial gold coins. Stack’s Bowers Galleries describes it as the strongest such offering to appear in recent memory.
Many of these coins trace back to Hillyer Ryder, a prominent early 20th-century collector. Ryder acquired them at auction during the 1910s and 1920s. He passed away in 1928.
One example is the 1830 Templeton Reid $2.50, graded AU-55 (PCGS) CAC. Ryder purchased the coin in Henry Chapman’s 1924 sale of the Nygren Collection.
Three additional Territorial coins trace from Ryder to California coiner John Glover Kellogg. Among them is Kellogg’s own 1854 Kellogg $20, now graded AU-58+ (PCGS) CAC CMQ.
Mr. Stack acquired the iconic 1850 Baldwin $10 “Horseman” at B. Max Mehl’s 1947 sale of the Geiss Collection. The current auction marks the first time Stack’s Bowers Galleries has offered this type since the firm’s $1.26 million record-setting sale of a specimen graded MS-63+ (PCGS) CAC CMQ in November 2024.
A Collection That Defined a Century
Reflecting on the project, Brian Kendrella, President of Stack’s Bowers Galleries, emphasized its long-term importance.
“The James A. Stack, Sr. Collection has provided us, and the entire marketplace, with an exciting experience since we announced it last summer,” Kendrella said.
He added that extensive research, expert photography, and global marketing efforts have positioned the Stack Collection as one of the most significant U.S. coin collections assembled during the 20th century.
Auction Details
Session 1 and Session 2 of the James A. Stack, Sr. Collection, Part II are available for viewing and pre-sale bidding at StacksBowers.com.
Live bidding begins at 12:00 PM PT on Tuesday, February 3, 2026.
Just WOW so much gold.
I’m curious what u.s. coin was minted but no examples exist today?
The beauty of these coins astounds me. They’re only dreams to me, but dreaming is usually pleasurable to me!
These gold coins are a beauty to behold!
I believe these coins belong in my collection!
I’d love to own a gold coin!
What a collection! Mr. Stack must have had DEEP POCKETS and great taste!!
This is one of those auctions featuring ultra rarities that that come along maybe once in a generation, if at all. Its times like this that I wish I had the resources to take advantage of what will be a once in a lifetime auction of rare gold coins….
So much Gold!
Wow! Such awesome coins.