OWNERS OF 1860's AMERICAN GOLD COINS HAVE HEART ATTACK

GO HERE for the entire story, but a ship sunk off the U.S. coast in 1865 carrying a ton of gold coins has been found. Nobody knows if the gold coins came directly from minting or if they were coins of the day, meaning the dates would vary widely. Until this is discovered the "value" of existing pre-1866 U.S. gold coins will be on hold, causing coin owners a year or so of brown underwear. Understand that U.S. gold coins (in fact all early U.S. coins be they silver, copper, or gold) are the most valuable in the world because we had the only standardized coinage, meaning weights were honest and coins were all alike. Grading means everything. The best is MS68 meaning it is pristine and very rare, but most best knowns are MS66 and lower so that anyone holding an MS65, 64, down to 60 is in danger of seeing the value of their coins plummet. On the other hand the ship may have been rolling around down there, making the coins rub against one another causing "bag marks" so that they won't be graded MS (Mint State), but the far lower grade of UC (uncirculated) or circulated. Collecting hard assets other than art by dead people carries high risk. Fun for treasure hunters everywhere. Interestin story about forgeries surrounding gold bars here.