The 1857-O is the third rarest No Motto eagle from the New Orleans mint after the 1859-O and the 1841-O. Only 5,500 were made and fewer than 100 exist with most in the VF-EF range. Properly graded AU50 to AU53 examples are extremely scarce, especially with natural color and surfaces. The 1857-O eagle is unknown in Uncirculated and I am aware of just three or four coins that grade AU58.

This is an uncommonly choice example for the date and grade with pleasing medium russet color on the obverse and reverse. The strike is better than usual and the surfaces are cleaner than one might expect with the only marks worth describing located at the center of the right obverse field. Some dirt can be seen in the protected areas on both sides and the eye appeal is excellent.

Only three PCGS AU53 1857-O eagles have appeared at auction since the beginning of 1998. The last of these was Heritage 5/11: 5641 which was bid up to $5,463. That coin was dipped and abraded and the present example, in my opinion, is far superior.

If you collect No Motto eagles from the New Orleans mint, you know what a challenging date this is and how hard it is to locate a nice PCGS graded example with natural color.