By Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

Last week, I discussed the 1858 Eagle that no one talks about very often. This week, I will discuss a 1797 Eagle that people hardly talk about at all! The coin’s title is even a little awkward to say, as an Eagle is a $10 gold coin, it is a 1797 ‘Small eagle’ Eagle.

A 1797 Eagle with a ‘Small Eagle’ reverse is ‘in the news’ as the firm of Ira and Larry Goldberg will be offering one at auction on May 28. Before I came across the listing of this coin, it had been a very long time since I had given much thought to the 1797 $10 gold coins with the ‘Small eagle’ reverse (back of the coin). It would be fair to say that I had forgotten about this issue.

It is fairly valued in most major price guides. Indeed, in uncirculated grades, it is often priced nearly as high, or sometimes higher, than the famous and much rarer 1795 Eagle with ‘Nine leaves.’ The rarity of the 1797 ‘Small eagle’ Eagle has certainly been recognized.

The design of the 1797 ‘Small eagle’ Eagle is unique in that no other Eagle has the same arrangement of stars on the obverse (front of the coin). There are twelve stars on the left and four on the right. It is thus easy to identify a 1797 ‘Small Eagle’ without even seeing the reverse, as 1797 ‘Large eagle’ Eagles have a different obverse star arrangement. (more…)

By Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

On May 10, Heritage Auctions will offer the finest known 1858 Eagle, U.S. $10 gold coin. Though the 1858 Eagle is probably an extremely rare date, it is hardly discussed by anyone.

The lack of attention is partly due to discrimination against Philadelphia Mint Liberty Head gold coins. Only the far rarer 1875 Eagle gets much media attention among Philadelphia dates in the Liberty Head Eagle series, 1838-1907. Even the 1875 is not one of the Great Rarities that coin enthusiasts often remember and talk about. Certainly, many more people talk about 1876-CC Twenty Cent pieces and 1927-D $20 gold coins.

Many collectors focus upon Carson City Mint coins of one or more denominations. The offering of a collection of Carson City Mint Eagles at auction typically becomes a major media event, and is widely discussed among collectors and dealers nationwide. There have been far more discussions of the rarity of various Carson City Eagles than of the 1858 Philadelphia Eagle.

When ANR auctioned the ‘Tennessee Collection’ of Carson City Eagles in 2004, it was the focal point of a live auction in New York City. I covered this event for Numismatic News. Likewise, over the last year, the sales of two other collections of Carson City Eagles have received a lot of attention.

San Francisco Mint Eagles from the 1850s and 1860s also get much more attention than 1858 Philadelphia Mint Eagles. One reason is the historical allure of the culture spawned by the California Gold Rush, and another reason is the excitement surrounding the significant number of ‘S’ Mint Eagles that have been found in shipwrecks excavated over the past quarter-century. It may also be true that, since so much has been written about the ‘Wild West,’ and it has been the setting for many movies, many collectors are more attracted to San Francisco and Carson City Mint coins.

Eagles of the ‘so called’ No Motto type were minted from 1839 to 1866. A slightly different type, which also lacked the ‘Motto,’ was minted only in 1838 and early 1839. The Motto, ‘In God We Trust,’ was added to Eagles and several other denominations in 1866. For the whole ‘No Motto’ Eagle type, there are a very small number of coins that merit choice uncirculated grades, MS-63 and higher. (more…)