Wells Fargo unveils golden campaign

Las Vegas coin dealers are pondering the value of a large horde of gold coins featured in a display unveiled Thursday.

The horde of 1908 $20 gold pieces known as "No Motto" St. Gaudens, named for the absence of "In God We Trust" and for the designer, includes nearly 20,000 coins.

The coins were being held in a large vault in Wells Fargo's downtown Las Vegas branch when they were brought to the attention of a dealer in 1996.

They belonged to a private owner who could not be identified due to a confidentiality agreement with the company that purchased the coins, Spectrum Numismatics.

Spectrum President Greg Roberts said the quantity and quality of the coins made the find significant. He explained an independent coin grading service rated many of them 66 and 67 on the industry standard Mint Scale, which assigns values from 1 to 70.

That rating puts the coins in the realm of mint condition.

Roberts said Spectrum paid more than $15 million for the coins, and the company is selling them in conjunction with a series of exclusive retailers.

The coins rated an MS 66 retail for around $3,000, while those rated MS 67 should go for around $10,000, Roberts said.

One local coin dealer questions whether the market can sustain those prices.

Rusty Goe, owner of Las Vegas Rare Coin Gallery, said when the large quantity of coins became available, it actually drove the price of the coins up.

This runs counter to the expected response to a significant increase in supply, he said.

Goe said the price of the coin may be inflated due to the marketing efforts of the companies involved. Dealer David Hall's North American Trading, for example, is running newspaper advertisements promoting the coins.

Goe worries that when the marketing ends, the price of the coins will fall -- leaving investors disillusioned.

Mike Cohen, president of National Diversified Brokers, disagrees.

He said the six dealers who are offering the coins are handling them properly, moving them onto the market slowly.

Cohen believes if the coin sales are handled correctly they can create a very good situation for everyone involved.

Wells Fargo is banking on the long-term success of the coins. Under a licensing agreement the coins will be marketed under the name "Wells Fargo Nevada Gold."

The coins are featured in a display at the Wells Fargo Tower Branch along with photos from the 1850s to the early 1900s. The display will remain in the branch through the end of the year.

At the unveiling, Spectrum and Wells donated three of the MS 66 coins to Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada, Lied Discovery Children's Museum and Clark County Public Education Fund.

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