IMPORTANT CHOICE AU 1861-O DOUBLE EAGLE

The 1861-O Liberty double eagle is one of the great story coins in American numismatics. Produced on the brink of the Civil War, the coins were actually issued by three different governing authorities. Records suggest 5,000 coins were struck under the auspices of the federal government from January 1 to January 26, 1861. The State of Louisiana seized the facility after that date and struck another 9,750 double eagles before turning over the Mint to the Confederacy on March 31. A final 2,991 coins were produced under Confederate control, for a total of 17,741 pieces for the year.

Collectors have long speculated about which coins were actually produced by the Confederacy. Although three pairs of dies were shipped to the New Orleans Mint in December of 1860, it is believed that only one die pair was used to strike the entire mintage. However, the coins show several distinctive features that seem to divide the survivors into different groups. One group of coins shows a strong date, with a die crack from the rim above star 2 into the field. Another group shows a weak date, with prooflike surfaces and no die crack, suggesting that the die might have been lapped. A final group shows a weak date, but with evidence of strengthening of the lower part of the numerals. Some collectors have theorized that the weak date coins were struck by the State of Louisiana or the Confederacy, after the dies were lapped. Alternatively, I feel that the die crack was probably too deep to be removed by lapping and the strong date coins account for about 20% of the surviving population, very close to the proportion of coins struck by the Confederacy. Both theories have their supporters, but it seems no really conclusive evidence is available on this subject.

As a date, the 1861-O is a Tier Two rarity among the New Orleans double eagles, trailing the legendary 1854-O and 1856-O but comparable to the 1855-O, 1859-O, 1860-O and 1879-O. It is likely that around 150 or so are known with probably fewer than 10% of these showing the least amount of originality. Many are either “no grades” (including some which are straight graded by the services) or which are vastly overgraded and totally lacking in eye appeal.

This choice example is unusual in a number of regards. It is prooflike and very well struck for the issue, suggesting it was one of the first struck from these dies. It shows a considerable amount of natural coloration and original skin and this is, again, highly unusual for the issue. I grade this coin AU55+ to AU58 and I feel that the scuffiness visible on the obverse is somewhat unfairly accentuated by the depth of the reflectiveness. Most importantly, this is a coin with good eye appeal and character and it is the nicest 1861-O I have handled in some time.

Four PCGS AU55’s have sold at auction since 2007. Heritage 4/14: 5805 sold for $58,750 and showed a number of detracting scratches in the left obverse field. Heritage 4/14: 5806 was a nicer coin for the grade and it brought $70,500 but it still wasn’t as nice as the piece I offer here.

It would be hard to imagine a nicer coin for the grade than the present piece and this is an important issue which appeals to a host of specialists.