VERY SCARCE UNCIRCULATED 1874 DOUBLE EAGLE WITH CAC APPROVAL

Along with the 1873 Closed 3, the 1874 is one of the two true “sleepers” in the Type Two double eagle series. It is generally seen in the AU55-MS60 range and properly graded MS61 examples are very scarce. In MS62, this date is rare and it is almost never seen finer.

This fresh-to-the-market example is from a small deal of fresh 1874 double eagles which recently broke. I was able to choose this one and I thought it was as nice as the few MS62′s I saw–priced at nearly three times as much. This piece is crisply detailed and frosty with nice natural yellow-gold color which is “right” for the issue. There are scattered marks on both sides which are consistent with the grade but this piece is much cleaner than usual for the issue.

The only CAC approved MS61 1874 double eagle to sell at auction was a nice PCGS example which sold for $8,225 as Stacks Bowers 2014 ANA: 12051. A non-CAC PCGS MS61 brought $4,995 as Heritage 1/16: 6668.

If available, a CAC approved MS62 1874 double eagle would sell for $15,000 or thereabouts, making this high end MS61 a very good value.

CAC has approved 13 in this grade with three finer (all in MS62).