LIKELY CONDITION CENSUS 1871-S EAGLE

The 1871-S is more available in VF-EF grades than the 1866-1870 San Francisco eagles. In the lower AU grades, the 1871-S becomes slightly scarce and it is most certainly a rarity in properly graded AU55. I know of just a single PCGS AU58 and this was the CAC approved Stacks Bowers “Hendricks” coin which set an all-time record when it sold for $42,000 in April 2022.

This piece is net graded down from an AU58 (and a price tag at least 3x higher than what this coin is going to sell for) to a deserving AU55 as the result of a long diagonal mark on the face of liberty that appears to have been mint-made. If you can get past this mark—which I was able to—you’ll see a splendid coin that was likely the finest known 1871-S $10. Both sides are very lustrous and show smashing orange-gold and pale green hues and there is a conspicuous absence of wear even on the highest spots of the obverse.

There have been three different PCGS/CAC AU55 1871-S eagles from the Fairmont Hoard offered between summer 2022 and late spring 2023 with each one selling for exactly the same amount: $12,000.

The addition of at least seven nice AU 1871-S eagles into the market since 2020 has a positive impact. Disregarding the $42,000 coin mentioned above—it was a clear outlier—values for AU53 and AU55 examples have risen significantly as these coins are still scarce and a valid price has been established.

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