GFRC Online Auctions

 

The Connoisseur's Auction Sale Series

The White Pine Liberty $5 CAC Approved Gold Rarities

and

The Island City 18th and 19th Century Type Set Collection

October 11 - 18, 2025

 

 

The final GFRC Online Auctions event of 2025 has arrived and what a way to close out a very memorable numismatic year. The first half of 2025 brought a three auction session release of the Gerry Fortin Liberty Seated Dime Collection in conjunction with the Newtown Liberty Seated Half Dollar Collection. Many record prices were achieved for this long term projects. The just completed Massachusetts Liberty Seated Dime Collection auction coupled with the Tenafly Seated Dimes and $5 Liberty gold brought another spectacular 250 lot event. Now, GFRC is thoroughly pleased to be offering a magnificent assemblage of early $5 Liberty Charlotte and Civil War rare dates with nearly all lots being CAC approved. In parallel, the Island City Collection has made a command decision to release his long term United States 18th and 19th century copper, silver and gold type set. This release is also a treasure trove of top end CAC approved lots that should garner considerable bidding.

GFRC's staff cataloger is back on the job and will be meticulously evaluating both the White Pine Liberty $5 gold release and the Island City Type Set Collection offerings. A catalogers role is unique in that all aspect of each lot must be researched to prepare a complete assessment. From TPG and CAC population rarity, originality and eye appeal, and prior auction appearances, Len will be sharing his findings and individual lot opinions. After years of professional cataloging, GFRC clients are assured of accuracy and in depth insights.

I've asked Len to prepare an overview for both the White Pine gold and the Island City Type Set lots taken in the context of a complete set and how each coin "fits" into the overall set theme or client collecting style. Following are his thoughts for the White Pine $5 gold consignment followed by the Island City Type Set offerings.

 

White Pine Gold is White Hot

GFRC is pleased to present a 34-piece consignment of Liberty Head five-dollar gold pieces. The Liberty Head gold series is extensive and is challenging to complete even with an ample checkbook. Thus, most collectors will pick a subset, with mintmark sets being especially popular, as this design was struck in seven different locations – Philadelphia, the three southern Mints, and the three western Mints. While not attempting completion, the White Pine collector has pursued the series with a number of themes in mind. For starters, nearly every coin in this set resides in a PCGS holder with CAC approval. Collectors seem to prefer this particular combination of multiple endorsements, as no single service is infallible. Thus, the overall quality is strong, and we expect spirited competition throughout the sale.

The White Pine consignment further includes 11 Charlotte pieces, representing fully half of the Charlotte Liberty $5 set. These pieces were struck from 1839 to 1861, bookending the discoveries of Southern gold, in the 1830s, and the Civil War. Moreover, many of the White Pine pieces lie at the lower end of the grading spectrum, making the examples here more affordable than usually seen. Gold circulated much less than copper and silver, meaning that even lower grade pieces, typically in the XF range, retain significant detail and eye appeal. Given the overall rarity of the Charlotte series, with no issues exceeding a production of 100,000 pieces, there is much to appreciate in the present offering.

As the price of gold rises, numismatic premiums tend to shrink, which makes the current sale an exceptional opportunity to pursue scarcer-date gold. While none of these lots will sell for melt value (as collectors we can dream), most examples do sport CAC populations of less than a hundred pieces, representing an opportunity to acquire gold coins that are both choice and rare. GFRC has its roots in the Liberty Seated series, beginning a generation ago, when rarity was seemingly prized above all else. Collectors have matured, and the emergence of CAC reflects on a market that is now just as driven by originality and eye appeal. With the White Pine coins, you get the best of both worlds. Good luck with the bidding, and we hope to see as many different collectors as possible acquire a piece or two from this noteworthy collection.

 

Island City Type Set - Assembled by a Patient and Picky Collector

GFRC is pleased to present an attractive selection of U.S. type coinage from the Island City consignor. Without exception, every coin is certified by both PCGS and CAC, and the overall quality is higher than usually seen. Even when collecting stickered coins, it is possible to fall into a “hole filling” trap, but a careful examination of the present offering will reveal a patient and picky collector. Although not a complete type set, auction previewers will note strength in the Seated and Bust portions of the sale.

Selecting the plate coin for a sale is always a pleasant chore. Gerry has picked the 1795 Flowing Hair LM-5 half dime, a better variety among the early half dimes. The present cataloguer (Len) is partial to the 1917 Standing Liberty Type I quarter, a hammered Full Head example with Gem+ luster and light toning. One might also select the 1877 Liberty Seated half dollar in MS61, an “old friend” to GFRC (check the prices realized archive) that always draws interest. This piece exhibits attractive toning, and we expect enthusiastic bidding.

In terms of building a type set, the three ten-dollar pieces in the Island City collection are instructive. The 1847 ten in AU50 is a quintessential example of “old gold,” with original, medium skin. Moving to the 1901-S eagle, this MS64 piece perfectly illustrates the type with exceptional, frosty luster. The set wraps up with an MS62 Indian, a first-year of issue example exhibiting a balanced combination of smooth surfaces and original flash. These selections where obviously made with deliberate planning. We like these coins, and we think you will too.

 

In closing, this mid-October is a truly memorable GFRC event replete with premium lots, nearly all being CAC approved. Where else can collectors consistent locate CAC centric quality auctions in the numismatic market place? GFRC of course!

Good luck to all who wish to take a shot at these premium offerings. Verbal descriptions are always available via phone call. I'm in the office every morning, some afternoons if not on the John Deere tractor, and evenings after dinner. Please don't be bashful for scheduling an appointment via email or registering if new to GFRC Online Auctions. .

 

 

GFRC Online Auctions - PDF Catalog Archives

 

Greetings and welcome to GFRC No Buyer's Fee Auction Sales portal. Our online auction application takes a simplified approach for conducting noteworthy auctions without buyer's fees. The one commission rate approach for integrated auction and price list sales leads to a carefree and fun buying and selling event.

GFRC continues its Connoisseur Auction Sale series with a significant Liberty Seated Dime series offering featuring the Massachusetts Collection, a complete date and mintmark set ranked #3 on the PCGS Set Registry coupled with a plethoria of CAC approved Liberty Seated dimes from the Tenafly Collection. More will be written on this forthcoming auction sale in the coming days.

 

About GFRC

GFRC has rapidly grown as a leading retailer of quality Early Silver Type, U.S. Gold, and now expanding into early 20th Century denominations. Our business model is consignment centric supporting more than 150 consignors who actively conduct collection duplicate divestments. Selling CAC approved coins is our primary mission and specialty.

Founded during early 2014, GFRC has been in continuous operation since that time. Our website previously garnered some of the highest Alexa.com industry rankings due to a dedicated numismatic community that constantly visits the many online applications. The Daily Blog is the go to link for daily new purchases and auction information. Unlike other smaller dealers, we offer a complete Sales and Auction Archive for complete transparency. The GFRC Open Set Registry provides collectors with a friendly venue for posting their collections. The GFRC Gallery showcases the past and present offerings of our top consignors.

GFRC is a well known fixture on the national coin show circuit. We exhibit at Whitman Baltimore, Winter and Summer FUN, Central States, and the Summer ANA World's Fair of Money. You will find GFRC at smaller regional shows consistent with our summer New England presence and winter snowbird status in Florida.

 

The Unique GFRC Integrated Service Approach

With the introduction of the GFRC's Online Auction service, clients have multiple sale approaches for their consigned coins.

- Regular Fixed Priced List Sales

- Online Auction Sales (Minimum consignment lot size and/or value requirement)

- A lot not selling at its Online Auction reserve price will automatically post to the price list at the reserve price.

- GFRC will not return consigned lots that do not meet reserves at Online Auctions due to the standard four month minimum consignment length requirement as part of GFRC regular policy. Requests for earlier returns of auction lots will be subject to 5% handling fee.

 

Online Auction Sale Terms & Conditions

GFRC auction sale Terms and Conditions are available by clicking here or the Terms & Conditions banner located at the top of this page. Your GFRC auction experience will be improved if carefully reading through all Terms & Conditions. Most potential questions, concerning the GFRC automated bidding application, will be answered if bidders take the time to read all facets of the Terms & Conditions.

 

The Bidding Process Using the GFRC's Online Auction Application

Online Auctions and the bidding process will be conducted through an automated bidding application specially developed for the GFRC portal. Auctions will be posted and conducted via auction table presentation and located at seateddimevarieties.com/auction. Bidders WILL NOT be assigned a bidder number for each auction in order to simplify the application's operation. Instead, bidders will supply their contact information during each bid placement. Each bid will be assigned a unique number for tracking purposes. Bidders will receive an email from auctions@seateddimevarieties.com that confirms their bid and documents the bid number. The bid number is important when checking on high bid status.

 

GFRC Online Auctions - The Online Auction Table

Following is a screen capture of the Online auction table. The format looks similar to a regular GFRC For Sale page price list table.

Please look carefully as there are three different auction statuses illustrated. The first example is an 1913-S Buffalo nickel that is queued for an upcoming auction that opens on October 12. The TPG number is available with a link back to the TPG website for checking certification. Reserves and high bids will be listed in the second to right column. The rightmost column communicates the lot's status and allows bidding.

On the second line, the 1917-D Standing Liberty quarter is currently available for bidding as an active auction. Bidding is accomplished by clicking on the shopping bag icon.

The final line in the table illustrates an 1825 Capped Bust half dollar that was part of a prior auction that is now closed. That lot did not meet the reserve.

 

GFRC Online Auctions - Three Auction Statuses Example

 

GFRC Online Auctions - Using the Bidding Screen

Clicking the shopping bag icon for a lot that is part of an active Online Auction brings about a lot bidding screen. The bidding screen is unique to that lot and presents a full description and TPG serial number. Lots are identified by TPG serial numbers or with GFRC inventory number for raw coins.

The next illustration showcases the auction lot's information including full description, reserve price, current high bid and bid number. There are three panels for entering information towards placing a bid. Bidding requires three pieces of information each time a bid is placed. .

- Name

- Email Address

- Max Bid

Once these three pieces of information are entered, please hit the Enter Bid button.

GFRC Online Auctions - Bidding Screen Example

 

Bidders will accurately enter the required information and select the Enter Bid button. A bid will be first checked for being valid. If not valid, an error message will be issued on the bidding screen. If the bid is valid, the bid will be acknowledged on a separate screen along with an email sent to the inputted email address indicating such.

 

GFRC Online Auctions - Email Bid Notification

All GFRC auction emails will be issued from "auctions@seateddimevarieties.com". The email captures the submitted name and acknowledges the maximum bid. Each bid is assigned a unique bid number. Please note that there are no bidder numbers assigned to clients. Again, each bid is assigned its unique tracking number. A link is provide to allow prompt return to the lot bidding screen which allows bidders to check if their unique bid number is the high bid.

Following is an illustration of typical Bid Notification email. Please note that the lot number is the full TPG serial number as extracted via bar code.

GFRC Online Auctions - Email Bid Notification