1872-S $10.00 PCGS AU53

Almost certainly from Europe as evidenced by the deep orange-gold color contrasted by darker toning on the highlights. Choice and very lustrous with some light scuffs in the left obverse field; the reverse is cleaner and very lightly marked. The 1872-S eagle is an overlooked issue with an original mintage of only 17,300. I believe that there are around 150-200 known with most seen in the VF-EF grade range. Properly graded AU53 to AU55 examples are very scarce and the 1872-S is a true rarity in Uncirculated withe just two or three known with claims to an Uncirculated grade. The last PCGS AU53 to be sold at auction was Stack's 8/10: 1153 which brought $3,450; before this was the B+M 7/06 coin (lot 1644) that sold for a strong $5,175. A really nice example of this underrated issue.

1854-S $10.00 NGC AU53

Although it isn't a rare coin, I have always liked the 1854-S eagle as it is the first year of issue for the San Francisco mint and it has great Gold Rush connotations. While dozens have been graded AU53 to AU55, few of these have original color and surfaces and this example is very pleasing for the grade with deep orange-gold and rose hues. Although a bit "ticky" from rough handling in commerce, this piece has quite a bit of sharpness and it has the appearance of a coin that grades higher. Even if you don't collect eagles, this is a neat issue to own and one that should be in any collection of branch mint gold.