VERY RARE CONDITION CENSUS 1866-S NO MOTTO EAGLE, NGC AU58

This numismatically significant issue has Transitional status as varieties of 1866-S eagle were made without and with the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. The No Motto variety is much scarcer and it is one of the truly hard to locate issues from this mint.  Only 8,500 were made and as few as 50 exist, mostly in lower grades There is one known in an NGC MS60 holder but it appears that the finest known are a group of two or possibly three graded AU58.

This lustrous slider is well struck and it displays no significant wear or detracting marks. It has nice light yellow-gold color with tinges of rose seen in the protected areas. I do not recall having seen or offered for sale a finer 1866-S No Motto eagle than this.

The last AU58 example of this variety to sell at auction was the Bass IV: 689 coin which brought $21,850 all the way back in November 2000. An NGC AU58 last sold in the 1998 FUN auction where the Donald Carter coin realized $19,550.

This is among the most important San Francisco eagles that I have offered so far this year.