1855-S $20.00 NGC AU58 CAC

This second-year-of-issue double eagle from San Francisco is not as scarce as the first-year 1854-S but it is an undervalued issue in its own right. The 1855-S is mostly found in the EF40 to AU50 grades and it becomes scarce in properly graded Choice AU. This lustrous example is among the most original 1855-S double eagles that I can recall having seen with appealing medium to deep rose and green-gold colors on the obverse and reverse. Traces of dirt are lodged in the protected areas on both sides and this attests to the coin's originality. The last comparable 1855-S to sell at auction was Heritage 3/12: 4206 (slabbed by PCGS but without a CAC sticker) that brought $5,175. If you can find an MS61 example of this date, you are probably looking at spending at least double the amount that this AU58 costs and you are probabaly not getting a better coin. This is one of just three 1855-S double eagles in this grade to earn a CAC sticker and only one finer currently exists with CAC approval.