1850 $20.00 PCGS AU50 CAC

Its status as a first collectable year of issue makes the 1850 among the most sought-after Type One double eagles. This date has become rather pricey in the higher AU grades but nice AU50's still seem reasonable to me. This is an uncommonly clean coin for the date and grade with very few abrasions seen on satiny surfaces. The color is a nice natural yellow-gold shade and there is plentiful luster seen on both sides. Here's an interesting factoid about this issue: of the 134 that have been graded by PCGS in AU50, only six (or less than 5%) have been approved by CAC. Even factoring in resbmissions, I think its safe to say that fewer than one in ten examples of this date in AU50 are nice enough to be stickered by CAC.

From the RYK Collection.