RARE NORMAL DATE 1865-S EAGLE

Varieties of this issue are seen with a Perfect Date and an Inverted Date. The latter is visually spectacular but the former is scarcer. In fact, this is one of the scarcest issues in the entire No Motto eagle series. Only 30-40 are known and many are in lower grades. In fact, this variety is not that much less rare than the famous--and expensive--1864-S.

This is a problem-free, evenly worn example which I feel is technically a VF30 or maybe a touch better but PCGS has mistaken the typical weak strike at the reverse center for wear. The obverse is very choice save for an area of discoloration from 2:00 to 4:00; a small old pinscratch can be seen below the left wing.

The only PCGS VF25 to ever sell at auction brought $4,843 as DLRC 5/12: 915. A PCGS VF35 sold for $8,225 as Heritage 8/15: 6243and it didn't appear to be much nicer than the currently offered coin.

This date is missing from most advanced sets and unless you can afford a five-figure EF 1865-S Normal Date, this is the best quality you will find at this price point.