RARE AND IN-DEMAND 1859-O DOUBLE EAGLE

The second tier of rarity for New Orleans double eagles consists of three issues: the 1855-O, 1859-O and 1860-O. All three of these dates are rare in all grades and just 9,000 were made at the New Orleans mint in 1859 with fewer than 100 known. I have seen very, very few 1859-O double eagles with natural color and choice surfaces.

This piece is entirely fresh to the market and was recently discovered in an overseas source. It is one of the few 1859-O double eagles known which hasn't been scrubbed or processed and it is characterized by attractive, natural medium russet and green-gold color. There are just a few small circulation marks and a small mint-made planchet imperfection below the eagle's right wing.

Only two PCGS AU50 examples of this date have been auctioned since 2012. A very low end piece with obviously enhanced surfaces went cheaply at $38,188 as Heritage 12/14: 3850 while another example which was nicer brought a very strong $54,344 as Heritage 2014 FUN: 5522. The last NGC AU50 to sell realized $37,600 as Heritage 7/16: 4037 and it was overgraded, in my opinion.

This is the finest 1859-O double eagle available to collectors for less than $50,000 and it deserves a prominet place in an important Type One double eagle collection.