The 1856-O is one of the scarcer No Motto eagles from New Orleans with around 100 known from an original mintage of 14,500. It compares closely to the 1852-O and 1855-O and as with those two issues, the 1856-O is very rare in properly graded AU55 to AU58 and exceedingly rare in Uncirculated. In fact, I believe it is unique in Uncirculated with a single PCGS MS60 being the finest I am aware of.

This coin is housed in an older pre-barcode blue label holder and it is very “meaty” for the grade with a good deal of frost mixed in with prooflike reflectiveness. The strike is average for the date with some minor weakness seen at the centers while the surfaces show the typical scuffs seen on 95% of the known examples. Both sides show rich yellow-gold color and the eye appeal is nice for the date and grade.

Only three PCGS AU53′s have sold at auction since 2002. The last was ex Heritage 12/11: 4655 at $4,025.

Despite the sudden popularity of this denomination, the No Motto New Orleans eagles remain curiously undervalued.