A rare five-dollar gold piece . and a prized silver dollar each could fetch $ 10 million or more . in upcoming auctions , making the American rare coin market as . attractive , though not nearly as glamorous , as fine art . Sales of rare U.S. coins reached a record of nearly $ 536 . million last year , and now collectors are turning to the D. Brent Pogue Collection , which could boost it higher . Gathered over more than 30 years by Texas property developer . A. Mack Pogue and his son , D. Brent , it is considered the most . valuable collection of federal American coins dating from the . 1790s to the late 1830s in private hands . Scroll down for video . Above , a rare 1822 Half Eagle five-dollar gold piece , one of only three known to exist . The rare five-dollar gold piece and a prized silver dollar each could fetch $ 10 million or more in upcoming auctions . An 1822 Half Eagle five-dollar gold piece , one of only three . known to exist , and an 1804 Silver Dollar dubbed the 'King of . American Coins ' are expected to be among the top lots when the . collection is sold in a series of auctions in New York beginning . in May and continuing into 2017 . 'These two coins in particular , we think , have a possibility . of being up around that $ 10 million mark , ' Brian Kendrella , the . president of Stack 's Bowers Galleries , told Reuters . The rare coin and currency auctioneer , which is handling the . sales with Sotheby 's , believes the coins could shatter the $ 10 . million record set in 2013 for a 1794 Silver Dollar . Although jaw-dropping prices for contemporary art grabbed . headlines in 2014 , rare coins also had a banner year and are . among the biggest collectibles behind art and antiques . A 200-year-old Silver Dollar dubbed the ' '' King of American Coins , ' is seen in an undated handout photo courtesy of PCGS . Coin sales are driven by the economy , but Kendrella said . investors and collectors are also lured by the rarity , . uniqueness , condition and historical links of coins . 'They are artifacts that speak to what was going on in the . United States at the time these coins were made , ' he said . 'That 's one of the main draws . ' With a dozen coins selling for $ 1 million or more in 2014. and the first gold coin struck for the United States fetching . $ 4.5 million , the nonprofit Professional Numismatists Guild . estimates the overall U.S. rare coin market to be worth about $ 5 . billion . Walter Husak , a retired aerospace entrepreneur based in . California , knows just how lucrative it can be . A collection of . 301 rare penny coins dating from 1793 to 1814 that he gathered . over more than 13 years sold in 2008 for $ 10.7 million , about . double what he invested in it . ' I never thought it would go up that much , ' he said . 'There . are a lot of people getting involved in coins . ' Barry Stuppler , secretary of the Professional Numismatists . Guild , has seen plenty of changes in his 52 years in the coin . business , with buyers increasing in recent years . 'It is a combination of the economy coming back , ' he said of . the market , 'and the fact that interest rates are very low . ' The Internet also has been ' a tremendous , tremendous source . of new buyers and sellers of coins that we did n't have 20 years . ago , ' said Stuppler . Demand for rare , investment-quality coins , graded and . certified by the guild and the Florida-based Numismatic Guaranty . Corporation , is high and supply is low . 'The rarities do the best , particularly gold and silver . coins , ' said Stuppler . 'The Pogue Collection is extraordinary . '
Collection of vintage commemorative coins from the D. le Pogue were expected to go on auction in New jersey in May .