Coinage of With Motto eagles from New Orleans began in 1879 and continued, with interruptions, until 1906. The 1880-O is the third rarest issue of this type from New Orleans, trailing only the very rare 1883-O and 1879-O. Of the 9,200 struck, there are around 200-250 known with the vast majority in the VF-EF range. Properly graded AU55 and AU58 coins are very scarce, especially with natural color and choice surfaces.

This fresh to the market example has a distinct “Euro” appearance with deep orange-gold surfaces and some deepening of the color on the high spots. The surfaces show far fewer marks than normal for the issue and there is around half of the original mint luster present. The eye appeal is excellent.

A total of four AU55′s, all graded by NGC, have sold at auction since the beginning of 2011. The last of these, which was very similar in appearance to the present piece, realized $3,450 as Heritage 2/12: 4929.

A nice, affordable example of this scarce and very popular New Orleans eagle.