The 1846-O is the most undervalued No Motto New Orleans eagle from the 1840′s. It is much scarcer than the 1844-O and 1845-O and in higher grades, it is comparable to more highly regarded issues such as the 1842-O and the 1849-O. It is a truly rare coin in properly graded AU55 and I am aware of just three or four Uncirculated pieces known, none of which have been available to collectors for many years.

This bright, lustrous example has little–if any–actual wear but it shows typically scuffy surfaces. For some reason, the 1846-O is a very hard coin to find with silky surfaces and despite the present marks, there is nothing deep or terribly detracting. The strike is sharp with only slight weakness seen on the curl directly above the ear of Liberty.

There has never been a PCGS AU55 1846-O eagle sold at auction. In the last two decades, only three NGC AU55′s have been auctioned with the last of these being a coin sold by Great Collections in February 2014 which realized $5,390. A PCGS AU55 example of the so-called 1846/”5″-O eagle brought $6,038 as Bowers and Merena 8/10: 1720.

This date is missing in most New Orleans eagle sets, especially in the higher AU grades.