Auction of recluse’s gold nets $3.5 million

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, February 27, 2013

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Bidders paid more than $3.5 million at auction for half of a Nevada recluse’s gold collection.
Carson City’s Alan Rowe of Northern Nevada Coin dominated the bidding Tuesday, winning four of the 11 lots for his own company and five for the Illinois-based Rare Coin Company of America Inc.
The total cost of his bids amounts to nearly $2.7 million — just over $617,000 of which was paid for by his local company.
Rowe says the coins have additional value because their story has captured national attention.
He adds that some of the collection will be available for locals to purchase individual coins packaged in a manner that commemorates the history behind them.
Others, he says, will be marketed nationally and perhaps on television.