The 1872 is a common double eagle in grades up to an including AU55. Properly graded AU58′s are only marginally scarce but most are not very high end and this date becomes quite scarce in Uncirculated with almost none available above MS60 to MS61.

This “gem slider” has an interesting background story. I bought it in a PCGS AU58+ holder and thought it had a very good chance to grade MS61 if resubmitted. After numerous attempts at both PCGS and NGC, it never graded higher than AU58 and I finally gave up and am offering it at a significant loss.

Suffice to say, this piece has a far better appearance than nearly every 1872 $20 I’ve seen graded MS61 and this is due to a virtual absence of marks as well as pleasing even light yellow-gold color and strong cartwheel luster. It does show some light friction on the cheek but, then again, so does virtually every Type Two double eagle in an MS61 holder!

You can buy a schlocky AU58 example of this date for $2,500-3,000 or you can buy a decent MS61 for $8,500-9,500. Better yet, you can buy this very high end example and know you are getting a coin with a $9,000 look for a fraction of the price.

CAC has approved six in this grade with eight finer.