Tale of the Tape: Battle of the 1864-S Half Eagle and Eagle
/Welcome to a new DWN/raregoldcoins.com feature which we have named Tale of the Tape. The concept is simple: we take two comparable coins, and give them rigorous head-to-head comparisons. In my opinion, the key word in this USP is “comparable.” Yes, an 1865 quarter eagle is many times rarer than an 1895 Morgan Dollar. But the Morgan Dollar series is avidly collected by date, while the Liberty Head quarter eagle series is nowhere near as in demand. So, despite the fact it is dozens of times rarer than its silver counterpart, the 1865 remains a less expensive issue.
The ultimate goal with the entire Tale of the Tape blog series is to determine which of the two subject coins is the best value. In some cases, I’ll make the determination that both of the coins are good value, and in some cases I might even determine that none of them are good value.
Without further ado, here are the two contestants:
In this corner, we have the Toast of the Barbary Coast! In the red trunks I give you at 8.36 grams, the 1864-S half eagle. Some key numbers before we get underway:
Mintage: 3,888
Est. Number Known: 25-30
Total Number Graded by PCGS / NGC: 22 / 9 = 31
Total Number Approved by CAC: 9
PCGS Price Guide, VF20 / EF40 / AU55: $50,000 / $82,500 / $225,000
Current Auction Price Record: $264,000 for a PCGS AU58 CAC in 4/2022
In the other corner, we say “hola” to the Rare Golden Bear! In the green weighing in at 16.7 grams, it’s the 1864-S eagle. Here are the numbers:
Mintage: 2,500
Est. Number Known: 25-30
Total Number Graded by PCGS / NGC: 30 / 6 = 36
Total Number Approved by CAC: 10
PCGS Price Guide, VF20 / EF40 / AU55: $85,000 / $160,000 / $350,000
Current Auction Price Record: $219,004 for an NGC AU55 in 10/2018
Looking carefully at the numbers, what stands out to me is how similar these two coins are. You’ll notice very little difference in their relative rarity. If you made me tell you which coin was the rarer of the two, I’m not 100% certain that I could. From my personal experience, I find the half eagle to be a smidge scarcer, but I could easily be convinced that the eagle is very slightly scarcer.
Let’s take a quick peek at the PCGS grading numbers and see if these offer a bit of clarity…
1864-S Half Eagle, PCGS Graded: AG-VF: 12 / EF: 3 / AU: 6 / UNC: 1 / Total: 22
1864-S Eagle, PCGS Graded: AG-VF: 14 / EF: 8 / AU: 8 / UNC: 0 / Total: 30
There is very little difference between these two issues in terms of their overall and high grade rarity. Based solely on rarity, I feel that the pricing on these two issues should be very similar.
Let’s compare the most recent APRs for the 1864-S half eagle and eagle, and see what these tell us. It should be noted that there are fewer APRs listed below for the half eagle, as only one coin had sold at auction since late 2014, and it was a lowly PCGS AG3.
| 1864-S HALF EAGLE | 1864-S EAGLE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade/Service | Date Sold | Price | Grade/Service | Date Sold | Price |
| VG8 / PCGS | 6/2024 | $19,200 | EF45 / NGC | 8/2024 | $69,000 |
| EF45 / PCGS | 1/2024 | $56,400 | VF30 / PCGS (CAC) | 12/2023 | $84,000 |
| F15 / NGC (CAC) | 1/2024 | $31,200 | EF40 / NGC | 12/2023 | $57,600 |
| EF45 / PCGS (CAC) | 8/2022 | $93,000 | EF45 / NGC | 8/2023 | $78,000 |
| AU58 / PCGS (CAC) | 4/2022 | $264,000 | VF Details / NGC | 12/2022 | $42,000 |
| F15 / PCGS (CAC) | 4/2022 | $60,000 | |||
| EF45 / PCGS | 8/2021 | $96,000 | |||
| VF35 / NGC (CAC) | 8/2021 | $78,000 | |||
| EF45 / NGC | 1/2021 | $93,000 | |||
From these APRs, I can conclude the following:
CAC approval plays a major role in determining the value of an 1864-S half eagle and eagle. As an example, a PCGS/CAC eagle graded F15 by PCGS sold for more than an NGC EF40 non-CAC did.
There were almost twice as many 1864-S eagles sold in recent years than there were 1864-S half eagles.
There were no 1864-S eagles that graded higher than EF45 while there were two nice 1864-S half eagles that sold; a PCGS/CAC AU58 and a PCGS/CAC EF45.
The two nice half eagles cited above were both from the Fairmont Hoard. No 1864-S eagles from this source have entered the market as of the end of 2024.
The perceived dip in the market for 1864-S eagles—based on fairly weak APR’s in 2023 and 2024-- is largely based on inferior quality. I consigned the NGC EF45 and the NGC EF40 coins which were sold in 2023 and 2024 and both were very low end. Had either of them been nice, I believe that they would have sold for an additional 15-20%.
My personal conclusion is that while both of these issues represent relatively good value, the 1864-S half eagle is underpriced when compared to its counterpart, the 1864-S eagle.
The winner by TKO in Round 7…the Toast of the Barbary Coast, the 1864-S half eagle!!
What other coins would you like to see in an upcoming version of Tale of the Tape? Email me with your requests and I will try and get them done. My email address is dwn@ont.com.
