1845-O $5.00 NGC MS61

It's always nice when old friends come home and this wonderfully crusty 1845-O half eagle is a coin that I first offered for sale about two years ago. I re-acquired it at the Long Beach show and, if anything, I like it even more than I did then. The 1845-O half eagle remains a very rare issue in Uncirculated with an estimated eight to ten known. The NGC population for MS61's is inflated and at least one or two of the pieces I have seen in said holders have been marginal at best. This example has lovely deep green-gold and russet colors, in slightly different configurations, on the obverse and reverse. The strike is sharp and the surfaces are free of significant marks. For the sake of identification, there is a patch of dirt near the top of star seven on the obverse and a few natural copper spots on the reverse. Since 1995, only five MS61 examples of this date have appeared at auction. The last sale is Heritage 6/11: 4631 (graded by NGC) that realized $10,350; in March 2010, Heritage sold a PCGS graded coin for $12,650. An impressive coin for an advanced collection of New Orleans half eagles.

1857-S $20.00 NGC AU58 CAC

Back before the discovery of the S.S. Central America, the 1857-S double eagle was actually a scarce coin and this piece, with its obvious non-seawater surfaces, represents what would have been just about the best available quality for the date way back when. To my eyes, this is a fully Uncirculated coin with superb natural orange-gold color and bold, unbroken luster. There are light, uniform scuffs on both the obverse and the reverse but this piece is exceptional for the grade. It is interesting to note that many inferior SSCA AU examples of the 1857-S sell for a premium over the far more rare pieces with natural surfaces.

CAC has approved six in this grade with 36 finer. It is impossible to break these numbers down into SSCA and non-SSCA totals.

1856-S $20.00 PCGS AU55

Secure Plus. This non-shipwreck example has very clean surfaces with far fewer marks than usual for the issue. The color is original and attractive with medium orange-gold accented by rose splashes in the recessed areas. You rarely see nice circulated 1856-S double eagles with original surfaces and this example is one of the best AU55's that I have handled in a number of months.

1854-S $20.00 NGC AU55

The 1854-S is a numismatically significant coin as it is the first double eagle made at the San Francisco mint. It is also an enigmatic issue. Because of the Yankee Blade shipwreck, it is fairly available in Uncirculated but with original, non-seawater surfaces it is rare in all grades and extremely rare in AU and above. I know of just two non-shipwreck Uncirculated 1854-S double eagles (both of which have been handled by my firm) and a handful of nice AU's. The present example is one of the two or three best circulated 1854-S double eagles I have seen. It is very well struck and has nearly full satiny luster. The color, a light orange-gold hue, is lovely and the surfaces are amazingly clean for the date and grade. Around four years ago, I paid close to $10,000 for an original surface 1854-S in PCGS AU55 when Trends was around $4,500 for this issue. This coin may be even nicer and with the market finally appreciating the rarity of original 1854-S double eagles, I think it is still a good value. If you are a serious collector of Type One double eagles, I urge you to give this coin your full consideration.

1894-O $5.00 NGC MS62

Only three New Orleans half eagles bear the motto IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse and the 1894-O is the penultimate of this trio. It is far scarcer than the 1893-O but not as rare as the 1892-O. The 1894-O is generally seen in the AU53-MS60 range and it is rare in properly graded MS62. In all my years of specializing in New Orleans gold I have only handled a small number finer than MS62 and the present example is a fresh, pleasing coin with natural green-gold and orange colors atop highly reflective, lightly scuffed surfaces. Only five slabbed MS62 examples of the 1894-O half eagle have appeared at auction since 2000 and the last sale was a PCGS coin that brought $3,220 as Heritage 11/11: 4331.

1839-D $2.50 NGC EF45 CAC

Variety-1. The 1839-D is not the rarest Dahlonega quarter eagle (that honor belongs to the 1856-D) but it is clearly the most popular and certainly the most historically significant. It has the dual distinction of being a one-year type and a first-year-of-issue which gives it a very broad range of appeal. While not really a rare coin, it is very hard to find with original color and surfaces. The present example is one of the nicer collector grade 1839-D quarter eagles that I have owned in some time. It has good detail and choice surfaces with rich natural orange-gold pastel color. There is nice balance between the obverse and the reverse with more detail on the feathers than usual. The last EF45 1839-D quarter eagle to sell was a PCGS example in the Heritage 12/10 auction that brought $6,325.

CAC has approved two in this grade with six finer.

1851-D $2.50 NGC MS62 CAC

This fresh-to-the-market coin was discovered at the recent Philadelphia ANA show, sold to a wholesale dealer and was then sold to me. This is the first time it has ever been offered to collectors and it is one of the more important individual Dahlonega quarter eagles that I've handled all year. This is a date that is not generally seen with good eye appeal but there are a few higher quality pieces known that are attractive. This is clearly one of those. It is well struck and fully original with nice natural green-gold color and soft, satiny luster. There are no describable marks and if this coin were graded MS63 it would not look out of place in the holder. I know of approximately six Uncirculated 1851-D quarter eagles. The finest is the NGC MS65/PCGS MS64 Duke's Creek: 1508 coin that sold for $63,250 in April 2006. There are three coins graded MS62 by PCGS. One is in a Georgia collection and is ex Jasper Robertson: 1267 while another is a coin that I sold to a Kansas collector and it is from the Chestatee collection. The NGC population report shows an MS64 but I believe that this is the Duke's Creek coin mentioned above. There are no auction records for an MS62 since the aforementioned Chestatee coin that sold for $12,075 back in August 1999; the Robertson coin, then graded MS61, sold for a rousing $28,000 in the 1999 FUN auction. The present example is solidly in the Condition Census for the date and it is the best 1851-D quarter eagle that I've handled since the finest known Duke's Creek coin that I sold over six years ago. This is an extremely important coin for the serious Dahlonega collector.

This is the only 1851-D quarter eagle in MS62 to be approved by CAC with none finer.

1846 Small Date $5.00 NGC MS61

There are two varieties of 1846 half eagle known: the common Large Date and the scarce Small Date. The latter is generally seen in EF and AU grades and it is quite scarce in Uncirculated with probably no more than ten to fifteen currently known. This bright, frosty example exhibits light green-gold color and it is sharply impressed. As on all known examples, there is a mint-made raised mark coming from the corner of Liberty's eye; the fields surrounding the portrait have some mint-made roughness and I have seen this on a few 1846 Small Date half eagles as well. If half eagles of this era become more avidly collected (which I can almost assure you they will be...) I believe that this variety will sell for a significant premium given its widely-known scarcity.

1852-C $5.00 PCGS AU50 CAC

A textbook example for the grade with good detail, outstanding peripheral orange-gold color and a decent amount of remaining luster. The 1852-C is among the more common Charlotte half eagles which make this a perfect date for type purposes. Some light marks in the left obverse field do not detract.

CAC has approved three in this grade with twelve finer.