EXTREMELY RARE 1875 EAGLE.

One of only 8 or 9 business strikes known.

The 1875 has an absurdly low mintage figure of 100 business strikes—as well as 20 Proofs—which makes it not only the single rarest Liberty Head eagle of any date, but also the second rarest Liberty Head gold coin of any denomination. 

If you don’t include the excessively rare 1849-C Open Wreath gold dollar as a Liberty Head issue (I am clearly in the camp of not recognizing it along with the $3.00), the 1875 fairs extremely well in rarity rankings of US gold coins made between 1838 and 1907. The following list shows just how rare the 1875 eagle is:

1. 1854-S $5.00: three known

2. 1875 $5.00: 9 to 11 known

3. 1854-S $2.50: 12 to 14 known

4. 1864 $2.50: 20 to 30 known

Let's look more carefully at these five issues:

To best appreciate the rarity and the current valuation of the 1875 $10, I believe that the three key date $20 Libs—the 1854-O, the 1856-O, and the 1870-CC—offer the best comparison. 

In terms of rarity, the 1875 is at least three times scarcer than the 1854-O and the 1856-O, and it is likely four to five time scarcer than the 1870-CC.

I think that there is enough difference in the rarity profile of these four issues that it is worth noting the following grade distribution for all four of these rarities:

There are fewer 1875 eagles in higher grades than there are 1854-O and 1856-O double eagles, while the 1870-CC is a close match to the 1875 in AU50 and finer.

You can argue that the 1870-CC double eagle is a more popular coin, and that more collectors are searching for a comparatively affordable example of this issue than for the 1875. But I contend that from a pricing standpoint, the 1875 eagle should be at least 50% more than an 1870-CC double eagle in the VF-EF range instead of being priced at the current 30% discount.

The example I am offering is housed in an old green label PCGS holder and I feel that it is VF35 by today’s standards.  It is bagmarked and scuffy as are all known examples. The surfaces show some second generation russet toning and the overall eye appeal is decent; especially when one considers that the two or three highest graded 1875 eagles are all heavily abraded and have clearly been cleaned at one time.

There are two other 1875 business strikes on the market right now: the ex-Simpson coin graded PCGS AU50 at $600,000, or the highest graded example—in PCGS AU53+—for a cool $1,000,000.

Or, you can be more frugal and buy my Choice VF for a fraction of these amounts. 

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