RARE BORDERLINE GEM 1916-S EAGLE WITH CAC APPROVAL

At one time, this date was really rare in Uncirculated but a few hoards were uncovered in Europe and today the 1916-S is actually one of the few San Francisco Indian Head eagles which is sometimes seen in Gem. Properly graded MS65's are expensive and most are in tightly-held collections which puts considerable pressure on borderline Gems when they become available.

This very attractive borderline Gem shows characteristic rose and green gold hues below a natural orange-gold overtone. The surfaces show good luster and show the semi-granular texture seen on many issues of this date. There are two small cuts hidden on the eagle's feathers which preclude a Gem grade but this is the nicest MS64+ example of this date which I have seen.

There are two other 1916-S eagles in PCGS MS64+. The last one to sell was not CAC approved and it realized $17,625 as Heritage 2/16: 3418. The other example, which was CAC approved, brought $21,150 as Lot 6126 in the Heritage 10/12 auction.

This date is very hard to find in CAC approved MS65 and above (only three have been stickered so far) and for most collectors, this MS64+ will be an excellent substitute.

CAC has approved eight in MS64 with three finer; two of the coins designated as "MS64" by CAC were actually MS64+.