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GreatCollections Auctions

GreatCollections Logo
Company type	Private
Founded	2010 (2010) in Irvine, California, U.S.
Founder	Ian Russell (founder and president) Raeleen Endo (co-founder)
Headquarters	Irvine, California, U.S.
Products	Certified coins and paper money
Services	Auctioneer
Website	greatcollections.com

GreatCollections Auctions is an American numismatic online auction house founded in 2010, and based in Irvine, California. GreatCollections is an auctioneer of certified rare coins and paper money (currency).

History

In the decade before co-founding GreatCollections, president Ian Russell held various positions at Spectrum Group International; including President of Teletrade, Inc. and Chief Operating Officer of Bowers and Merena Auctions, LLC; two of the largest coin auction houses in North America. In 1997 co-founder Raeleen Endo had begun working at Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) in customer service. She worked in various divisions of the parent company, Collectors Universe, handling client requests, auction production, and live auctions. After Collectors Universe sold its Bowers and Merena Auctions to Spectrum Numismatics in 2004, Endo continued for six years overseeing auction production and auction services.

Russell saw a "void in the [coin collecting] market", and began a six month process of developing both the GreatCollections.com website, and the company's operational infrastructure with Endo.

The GreatCollections.com website launched in late 2010, facilitating the sale and purchase of coins and paper money in online auctions.

In November 2011, GreatCollections moved into a larger suite in the building at 2030 Main Street, Irvine CA; from Suite 315 to Suite 620. McB-CITATION NEEDED.

In January of 2015, talk show host Larry King interviewed Ian Russell about GreatCollections and coin collecting. A video of the interview is available: Larry King Interviews Ian Russell of GreatCollections Coin Auctions on YouTube.

In August 2015, GreatCollections expanded again into a larger facility at 17500 Red Hill Avenue, Suite 160, Irvine CA 92614. This location is much nearer to the headquarters of PCGS. McB-CITATION NEEDED; COULD ONLY FIND GC PRESS RELEASE AT https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/greatcollections-moving-to-larger-quarters-in-california.html

In March of 2022, GreatCollections became the official auctioneer of the American Numismatic Association (ANA).

GreatCollections has graded the two highest value coins in history; the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle valued at $19 million, and the "Gold Cas", the 1000 BTC Casascius Physical Bitcoin valued at $48 million at the time of grading by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS).

Notable auctions and events

GreatCollections to auction Turino Collection of U.S. coins

• March 2012: GreatCollections auctioned a group of U.S. coins called the Turino Collection. The collection contained coins of all price ranges, but the highlights included a 1907 Saint-Gaudens Gold Double Eagle High Relief NGC MS-67 that sold for $110,000, and a 1915-S Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 Gold, Round PCGS MS-63 CAC that sold for $79,750.

• July 2012: The only confirmed example of 2007-D Sacagawea dollar, with Presidential dollar edge lettering instead of the intended plain edge, sold for $17,161.10 at auction by GreatCollections.

• December 2014: The Capuano Everyman PCGS Registry Set of Morgan Dollars was offered by GreatCollections. PCGS launched the Everyman sets several years earlier in response to demand from collectors who have amassed superb, nearly Uncirculated sets in many categories, but they did not rank as the finest when including Mint State examples.

• April 2015: GreatCollections auctioned the Cigarra Collection of U.S. coins missing Mint marks. This collection from an anonymous East Coast collector included the Proof 1968 No S Roosevelt dime, Proof 1990 No S Lincoln cent, 1970 No S Roosevelt dime, 1971 No S Jefferson 5-cent coin, and 1983 No S Roosevelt dime, all in Proof.

• December 2016: High graded gold coins from GreatCollections' Sierra Madre Collection realized much higher prices than expected.

• September 2018: GreatCollections auctioned a 90-coin collection of high-grade, certified Indian Head 5-cent coins that realized more than $500,000, well above the owner's estimate of $300,000.

• November 2019: Close to 100 rattlers and old holders were auctioned by GreatCollections. This collection of coins were graded in the early years of PCGS and Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), and have been in the possession of a single owner ever since.

• June-July 2020: GreatCollections auctioned the Catskill Collection of U.S. coins, the most valuable single collection the company ever consigned. McB-THE FOLLOWING NEEDS REFERENCES, WHICH I CANNOT FIND: The collection comprised of just 240 certified coins graded by PCGS and NGC and included many major rarities, such as a 1792 Half Dime, 1794 Silver Dollar, $4 Gold Stella and one of the highest valued 1907 High Relief Saint-Gaudens in existence. The total value exceeded $6 million.

• November 2021: GreatCollections acquired the finest graded 1913 Liberty Head Nickel, graded by PCGS at PR66. The 1913 Liberty Head Nickel is one of the most famous and coveted rarities in American numismatics, with only five examples known. This one graded by PCGS PR66 is the standalone finest known, and was previously a centerpiece of the Eliasberg Collection. It last traded at auction for $4.56 million in 2018.

• January 2022: GreatCollections acquired the first U.S. Silver Dollar for $12 Million.

• August 2022: GreatCollections auctioned ten 100-year-old pennies for $1.1 million. The pennies were specially struck proof coins made for collectors by the United States' Philadelphia Mint, in the early years of the Lincoln cents.