With the exception of a few dates (1873 Open 3, 1875, 1876 and 1876-S), Type Two double eagles are very rare in MS63 and higher grades. This is especially true for the scarce Philadelphia issues from 1868 through 1871. The 1869 is a date seen most often in EF40 to AU53 and it is rare even in the lowest Uncirculated grades. In MS63, I know of three coins: the present example, a coin in a private Midwestern collection, a coin that sold for $45,885 in the 2011 CSNS auction and the present example. There is also a PCGS MNS64+ which is up for sale in the 2014 FUN auction (it will bring over $125,000) and a single Gem, graded MS65 by PCGS, which sold for $299,000 as Heritage 1/08: 3319.

For the date and grade, this 1869 double eagle is exceptional. It is well struck and richly frosty with splendid natural medium orange-gold and pale lemon hues. The surfaces are remarkably clean with just a few tiny marks. There are two thin, light grease stains–as made–on the neck of Liberty–which are not easy to see without applying a 5X glass. The naked eye appearance of this 1869 double eagle is exceptional and it is a coin that, even if it were a common, would be worthy of a second look.

The last PCGS MS63 example of this date to sell was ex Heritage 4/11: 5473 which brought $45,885. It was approved by CAC but had more noticeable marks and was not as nice as the present coin, in my opinion.

If you collect Type Two double eagles by date or if you are searching for a serious type coin for your gold set, this wonderful 1869 is worthy of serious consideration!