1849 $10.00 NGC MS61

As with most No Motto Philadelphia eagles from this era, the 1849 is common in circulated grades but rare in Uncirculated and nearly unobtainable above MS62 to MS63. This piece is really choice for the grade with no luster breaks in the fields and an absence of rubbing on the high spots. The surfaces are clean with just a few small, scattered marks and the luster is frosty with a slightly different texture seen surrounding the devices on both sides. As is typical for this date, there is some minor weakness of strike at the centers. There is a huge price jump for this date as you go higher up the grading ladder and this makes a nice MS61 coin like this a very good value, in my opinion.

1865 $20.00 NGC AU58 CAC

This formerly overlooked Civil War double eagle is now recognized as being a scarce issue in circulated grades and a rare one in Uncirculated. This choice "slider" example shows attractive even light to medium green-gold color with slight accents of rose. The surfaces are clean with the exception of a few contact marks below the eye of Liberty and the wear is limited to a touch of friction on the high spots of the obverse.

1858-O $10.00 NGC AU58

By 1858, production of No Motto eagles at the New Orleans mint was winding down and only two issues were produced after this (1859-O and 1860-O). The 1858-O is moderately scarce although maybe a bit less than its mintage of just 20,000 would suggest. But it becomes hard to find in the higher circulated grades and it is very rare in Uncirculated with around a dozen known. The present example is one of the absolute nicest AU's of this date I've seen and it is a virgin original coin with splendid deep, even green-gold color on the obverse and reverse. The underlying surfaces are very choice with just a few tiny nicks seen here and there. I doubt this piece actually saw any circulation and the high spots lack the rubbing typical to the grade. It is hard to imagine that a much nicer AU58 example of this date exists!

1875-CC $20.00 NGC AU55

This is an uncommonly clean example of this popular Type One issue with a near-total absence of marks on the medium natural orange-gold and greenish surfaces. The detail is certainly suggestive of an AU58 grade but there isn't quite enough "pizzazz" to grade it as such. The 1875-CC is by far the most available Type One double eagle from Carson City, which makes this a perfect coin for the type collector.

1851 $20.00 NGC AU55 CAC

This deeply toned Type One double eagle has nice rich green-gold color with contrasting darker highlights from storage overseas. The surfaces are lightly marked and gently worn with good detail seen on both sides. While certainbly a common date in nearly any circulated grade, you don't often seen 1851 double eagles with this degree of eye appeal and/or originality.

1834 Classic $5.00 NGC AU55 CAC

McCloskey 3-C, Rarity-5. Plain 4 variety. The 1834 Plain 4 is easily the most available Classic Head half eagle. This makes it an ideal coin for the beginning collector who wants to dabble in "old gold" or the type collector who wants an affordable example of this popular early type. This lustrous example has a few too many marks on the reverse to qualify as a 58 but it is lustrous and well-detailed. Both sides show nice yellow-gold color.

This is the rarest die variety for the date and it is actually even more difficult to find than the 1834 Crosslet 4.

1894-O $5.00 PCGS MS62

While typically lumped with the 1893-O, the 1894-O is far scarcer in all grades. It is seldom seen above AU58 to MS60 and most of the Uncirculated examples known are excessively baggy MS60 to MS61 coins. Properly graded MS62 pieces are very rare as evidenced by the fact that PCGS has graded but four in MS62 with a scant two finer. There have been just two auction records for PCGS MS62 examples in the last seven years: Stack's 3/10: 1585 which brought $4,313 and Heritage 1/04: 7069 that sold for $4,140. This is the first 1894-O half eagle that I've owned in "real" MS62 in close to five years. It is mostly prooflike with splashes of golden-orange color atop vibrant surfaces that are moderately abraded. None of these marks is deep or terribly detracting and most are seen in the left obverse field. This is a true condition rarity and it is a numismatically significant issue, as well, due to its status as the final With Motto half eagle made at the New Orleans mint.

1860 $5.00 NGC AU55 CAC

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. In terms of overall rarity, the 1860-P is actually harder to find than the far pricier and more coveted 1860-C and 1860-D half eagles. There were 19,763 struck but many were melted during the Civil War and, today, survivors are not often seen above AU50. This is a very choice, totally original "dirty gold" piece with lovely rose-gold and medium orange hues on the obverse and reverse. The lightly abraded surfaces are clean for the grade and there is a good deal of luster. A small toning spot at the tip of the nose serves as quick identification. An Uncirculated 1860 half eagle hasn't sold at auction since May 2006 and the present example has more character than most of the 58's that I have seen in the past five or so years.

1843-C $5.00 NGC VF25 CAC

Locating reasonably priced, evenly worn Southern branch mint gold is never easy and the pre-1845 C+D issues tend to be especially hard to find with good eye appeal. This honestly worn, choice piece shows pleasing rich reddish-gold hues on the obverse and reverse. A few light ticks on the surfaces are in keeping with the grade. A nice looking Charlotte half eagle at under $2,000.