PROPERLY GRADED (!) 1839 HEAD OF 1838 EAGLE IN PCGS AU58

The 1838 and 1839/head of 1838 form a short-lived two year type which represents the first incarnation of the Liberty Head eagle. The 1838 is rare and prohibitively expensive in higher grades while the 1839 Head of 1838 is more available. While many have been graded AU58, most of these coins are just horrible with zero originality and a stripped appearance.

This is the first properly graded 1839 eagle I have seen in years. It is semi-prooflike with rich natural green and orange-gold hues over lightly abraded surfaces. The radial lines in some of the stars are weak as usual but the strike is sharp. The overall appearance is excellent and I like this coin a ton.

There has not been a single PCGS AU58 1839 Head of 1838 eagle sold at auction since 2002. NGC 58 coins have sold in the $10-13k range and have been uniformly scrubby and low end.

This is the nicest non-Uncirculated example of this numismatically significant issue that I've handled in some time.