The 1855-O is the third rarest Liberty Head double eagle from New Orleans, trailing only the six-figure rarities dated 1854-O and 1856-O. There were a total of 8,000 double eagles struck dated 1855-O, and fewer than 100 of these are known, mostly in the VF-EF grade range. In properly graded AU, this issue is really rare with an estimated 12-16 extant (mostly in the 50-53 grades) and I am aware of just one or possibly two in Uncirculated.

As far as my research shows, the present example is fresh to the market, as it appears to have never been sold at auction. It is extremely unusual amongst the survivors of this issue in that it hasn’t been scrubbed and re-scrubbed. Both sides show nice natural russet-gold color which is even with no spotting. The strike is razor-sharp and I would easily grade this coin a full AU58 were it not for a few reeding marks on the obverse; one at the rim near 7:00 and the other jutting down from Liberty’s chin.

In the last two+ decades, only one PCGS AU55 example of this date has sold at auction. In their November 2007 auction, Heritage recorded a transaction for $57,500. The last NGC AU55 1855-O double eagle to sell at auction brought $67,563 as Heritage 2014 ANA: 5688.

This impressive coin is not far removed from the tail end of the Condition Census for this issue and it is clearly the best 1855-O that is currently available to collectors. A very important O Mint Type One Twenty!