The 1884-CC is among the more available Type Three Carson City double eagles. It is readily available in all circulated grades and it is only moderately scarce in the lowest Uncirculated grades. It becomes scarce and costly in MS62 and it is very rare in properly graded MS63. For advanced collectors, the Best Value Grade for this issue is probably MS61, given the significant price jump to the next grade up.

I bought this coin from a leading “upgrader” and it was his mistaken belief that this coin was going to grade MS62. I can see why he thought this, as the visual appeal of this coin is excellent. It has thick, frosty luster and nice natural orange-gold color. A few ticks in the left obverse field limit the grade and there is a scrape on the reverse from the N in UNITED into the eagle’s right wing.

An inferior PCGS MS61 sold for $12,925 as Lot 4192 in the 2014 ANA auction; a nice PCGS MS61 with CAC approval realized $16,450 in Stacks Bowers 2014 ANA sale.

A perfect Type Three CC double eagle for the collector seeking a truly choice coin at less than $15,000.