By John Pack, Executive Director of
Consignments.
A rare and historic 1861-O double
eagle will be featured in our February 2014 Americana Sale in New York City.
Graded AU-50+ by NGC, it is ranked at a very respectable grade level for
this genuinely scarce, fascinating
and prized issue -- the final date of
production for New Orleans double eagles until 1879. The coin is described as
follows:
A pleasantly sharp example of
this rare New Orleans issue, which is generally one of the weakest struck
double eagles from this mint. Some softness is seen in the obverse stars,
largely from star three through eight, but even these are all completely
outlined and some are sharp enough to show the centers. The remaining stars all
show their centers. The bases of the date digits are also soft, mostly at 18.
Interestingly, the base of the 8 seems to have been somewhat crudely
strengthened in the die, as mentioned by Doug Winter in Gold Coins of the New Orleans Mint 1839-1909, and as seen on one of
the two examples owned by Harry W. Bass. The reverse shows much better detail,
with legends sharp and all central details well executed for the issue. Even
the wing tips show full separation in the feathers. Generous traces of
Prooflike reflectivity are seen on the reverse, most dramatically close to the
devices where the fields are best protected. On the obverse good luster
remains, again, in the protected areas. Scattered light handling marks are commensurate
with the grade, but none stand out as particularly noteworthy or distracting, a
welcomed change from those sometimes seen with heavy bagmarks.
Just 17,741 $20 coins were struck
at New Orleans this year, but interestingly, it is believed that not all were
by the United States, making this one
of the most interesting issues of the Liberty double eagle series. As published
by Doug Winter, it is believed that approximately 5,000 pieces were made by the
United States, struck from January 1st through January 26th, 1861. Thereafter,
the forces of the State of Louisiana took control of the facility and continued
production striking 9,750 through March 31, 1861. Finally, the Confederate
States government took control and struck the remaining 2,991 coins in April.
The determination of which coins were produced by which authority remains
uncertain, unfortunately. However, it is proposed by Doug Winter that coins
seen with a strong date and die cracks are those struck by the Confederate
States. Either way, it is quite interesting that, as the country descended into
the Civil War, someone at the mint bothered to notice the weak date on this
variety and took the time to try to sharpen the base of the 8. It is a bit hard
to imagine, but a testament to the level of attention paid to the production of
coins at the time.
As mentioned, many examples of
this date show heavy marks and the typical coin is in the Very Fine or
Extremely Fine range. Coins graded About Uncirculated are quite scarce and only
six Mint State coins have been graded by PCGS and NGC, though there could be
duplication in those figures. Any coin at the grade level seen here is suitable
for a fine collection of double eagles or of Civil War dates.
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