CHOICE 1839/8 HEAD OF 1838 $10.00 GRADED AU55 BY PCGS, ex Fairmount

The 1839/8 is, along with its counterpart the 1838, a two-year type representing the first incarnation of the Liberty Head eagle as it applied to this denomination; the largest struck by this country until the double eagle was introduced in 1850. It is far more available than the 1838, but its population figures are swelled by numerous stripped, processed examples.

This is among the more original examples of this date/variety that I have handled in some time. It shows 100% unmolested green-gold color over somewhat abraded surfaces. In my opinion, this is among the nicer AU55 1839/8 eagles I can recall seeing, and it should have stickered at CAC.

This exact coin (see below) is one of only two PCGS AU55 examples of this issue to sell at auction since early 2020. In Stack’s Bowers 4/2022 sale, a PCGS/CAC AU55+ brought $22,800.

Ex Heritage 5/2024: 5212 at $12,600; earlier from Stack’s Bowers 2022 ANA:3226 at $16,800; Fairmont Hoard.

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