VERY RARE PCGS PR61 1859 $10.00

All No Motto (pre-1866) Liberty Head eagles are very rare in Proof, and this is especially so when applied to those issues made prior to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. The 1859 is the most available of the pre-1861 issues with an estimated eight or nine known from a mintage of 80; this includes three Proofs of this date that are in museum collections. This surprisingly high-mintage figure is tempered by the fact that many Proof 1859 eagles were melted as there were not anywhere near 80 collectors willing to buy a Proof $10 from the Mint in 1859.

This coin has been pretty vigorously wiped in the left obverse, but it is fully reflective and it is an unquestionable Proof despite the extreme weakness of strike on the first three and final four stars (which is also seen on the PCGS/CAC PR65 DCAM Bass/Eliasberg coin). The bright orange-gold color is likely enhanced and there are some traces of putty on both sides. This was applied in a flimsy attempt to mask some clusters of hairlines. As I re-read this last sentence, I think I’m being unduly rough on this very rare coin as it has an acceptable naked-eye appearance for this grade.

This is the sole 1859 $10 in this grade at either service. It is the exact same coin as the NGC PR61 and I recently crossed it to PCGS.

There are no good comparable APRs. In 2014, the British firm of Morton and Eden sold a duplicate Proof from the Royal Mint Musuem graded PCGS PR65 CAM for $257,341. In May 2023, Heritage set a record price for a Proof of this date selling a PCGS/CAC PR65 DCAM for $456,000.

A coin of unquestioned rarity which needs a special collector to fully appreciate it for what it is.

Let’s take a deeper dive:

PCGS has graded around 20 Proof $10s from 1840 through 1859 with most in the PR63 to PR65 range. With a PR64 likely now worth in the $300,000-350,000+ range, and a PR65 now worth $500,000+, any straight-graded 1859 $10 in PR61 should be a no-brainer at $100,000 to $125,000

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