1862 $20.00 NGC AU58

The 1862 is the "king" of the Civil War double eagles and along with the 1859, it is the rarest double eagle from this mint until the Big Five ultra-low mintage issues from the 1880's and early 1890's. Not only does the 1862 have the loweast mintage figure of any business strike from this era (not including the Paquet issues, of course) but it has a decidedly low rate of survival with just north of 100-150 pieces known from the mintage of just south of 100,000. The 1862 is very scarce in the higher AU grades and very rare in Uncirculated. Prices have risen appreciably for this issue over the years but given the level of demand for it, they are not out of whack. The present example is a lovely slider with the body and appearance of a fully "new" coin but just a few too many small ticks on the surfaces to grade MS60. Unlike most 1862 double eagles, this piece has nice color with flashes of rose and light orange-gold seen atop very frosty surfaces. The strike is sharp and the overall appearance is very high end for the date and grade. There have been three auction records for this date since April 2011 in AU58 and the results have been remarkably consistent: $23,000, $23,000 and $25,300. The level of demand for this issue remains consistent as well and there are numerous Type One double easgle collector and Civil War gold specialists who covet the 1862 double eagle