1859-O $20 MS(PCGS#8927)

1859-O $20 MS (PCGS#8927)

The June 2010 Baltimore Auction

详细说明: 1859-O Liberty Double Eagle. Winter Variety One, the only known dies. AU-55 (NGC). Produced to the extent of just 9,100 pieces, the 1859-O is one of several major rarities in the New Orleans Mint Double Eagle series. It narrowly trails the 1855-O to rank fourth in overall rarity among the 13 O-mint issues in this series, and it is tied with the 1879-O (a Type Three issue) for this honor. Survivors number only 75-85 coins (per Doug Winter, 2006), and most grade VF or EF. There are probably fewer than 30 coins--if not 25--extant that grade AU-50 or finer.<br /> An important absolute and condition rarity from the Windemere Collection, this coin retains an uncommon amount of detail for a '59-O Twenty. The strike is remarkably bold for the issue, even over the obverse portrait and stars, and wear is minimal and largely confined to the highpoints. A short stint in circulation also imparted a noticeably scuffy "look" to the surfaces, but we stress that this is a very common attribute for an O-mint Twenty from the 1850s. There are no singularly distracting abrasions, however, and more direct angles allow ready appreciation of a semi-prooflike finish from the dies. Even honey-gold color to both sides, the surfaces brightening as the coin dips into a light.