As with the other “early date” San Francisco Type Three double eagles, the 1881-S is very scarce in properly graded MS62 and nearly unobtainable in grades higher than this.  Trends is a steep $25,000 in MS63 and no example in a PCGS holder has sold at public auction–in grades above MS62–since early 2009.

One of the main reasons why this date is so rare in higher grades is that most were shipped overseas and handled very roughly, resulting in excessive surface abrasions. This piece seems to have been spared that fate and it is very clean except for two shallow marks on the chin and another on the jawline. Still, if you compare the surfaces of this coin to the typical 1881-S, they are remarkable. The luster is satiny with very pleasing medium orange-gold color shading to rose at the centers.

The most recent APR for a PCGS MS62 example of this date with CAC approval is for $6,463. Marginal quality non-CAC PCGS MS62 examples trade in the $4,750-5,250 range.

If available, a nice PCGS MS63 1881-S double eagle might sell for over $20,000. At a fraction of this, the present example is exceptional value for the serious collector of Type Three double eagles.