1879-O $20 MS(PCGS#8990)

August 2018 ANA U.S. Coins Auction Philadelphia, PA

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1370

等级

XF45

价格

295,550

详细说明

Legendary 1879-O Double Eagle Rare Key Date Issue with Just 2,325 Pieces Produced 1879-O Liberty Head Double Eagle. EF-45 (PCGS). Inviting golden yellow surfaces with ample evidence of a semi-prooflike finish from the dies. The protected areas around the devices are particularly mirrored, a feature that is best appreciated with the aid of direct lighting. Sharply to fully defined over virtually all design elements, a few scattered reeding marks on the obverse are not out of place on a lightly circulated survivor of this highly elusive and extremely challenging issue. Alone among New Orleans Mint double eagles of the Type III Liberty Head design type, the 1879-O was produced upon the reopening of the New Orleans Mint after its forced closure at the onset of the Civil War. The reason for this mintage is unknown, as the government's primary purpose in reopening the New Orleans facility in 1879 was to aid in the production of Morgan silver dollars. The 1879-O double eagle may have been produced simply to mark the historic resumption of coinage in New Orleans, a theory that gains support when we consider than the mintage of this issue is a token 2,325 pieces ($46,500 face value).Regardless of exactly why they were produced, many examples of the 1879-O were exported alongside other double eagles of the era as part of international transactions. Approximately 100 to 120 coins are extant, generally in EF or AU, and mostly thanks to repatriations from foreign bank hoards in recent decades. With such a limited number of examples known, the 1879-O is obviously a leading rarity in the Southern gold series. Doug Winter (Gold Coins of the New Orleans Mint: 1839-1909, 2006 edition) ranks this issue fourth in rarity among New Orleans Mint double eagles after the 1856-O, 1854-O and 1855-O, a ranking it shares with the 1859-O. The present example is a highlight of the extensive double eagle offerings in this sale, and it is sure to have no difficulty finding its way into an advanced cabinet. Provenance: From the Soberman Collection. Earlier from our (Stack's) sale of the Robison Collection of United States Gold Coins, February 1979, lot 923. Lot tag included. PCGS Population: 16; 29 finer, just three of which are Mint State (MS-62 finest). PCGS# 8990. NGC ID: 26B8. Click here for certification details from PCGS.