By Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

An 1870-CC Double Eagle ($20 gold coin) is ‘in the news’ as one of the finer pieces sold privately in the middle of August. It had surfaced at the ANA Convention.

Bob Green of Park Avenue Numismatics sold this 1870-CC to a Nevada collector for an amount greater than $400,000!

As it did not come from a famous collection, at least not in recent decades, I will refer to it as the Green 1870-CC to distinguish it from others of the same date. The Green 1870-CC is certified, graded and encapsulated by the Numismatic Guaranty Corp. (NGC). Its “AU-53” grade indicates that it is certainly one of the ten finest 1870-CC Double Eagles, possibly even one of the two or three finest?

I am not aware of any 1870-CC Double Eagles that grade MS-60 or higher. Many of those that currently grade AU were graded as Extremely Fine in the 1980s or early 1990s. Likewise, many that were graded Very Fine in the past few decades have been certified as “Extremely Fine” over the past ten years. There are two Extremely Fine grade increments, EF-40, EF-45, and four in the AU range: AU-50, AU-53, AU-55, and AU-58.

Grades of MS-60 to -70 roughly approximate the range relating to the traditional grading concept of ‘Uncirculated.’ In 1988, the late researcher Walter Breen asserted that the 1870-CC is “unknown” in uncirculated. David Akers, the foremost expert on U.S. gold coins, stated that he never saw an uncirculated or “Mint State” 1870-CC. Curiously, one other expert, in a somewhat recent book on Double Eagles, estimates, without any pertinent references, a population of one or two Mint State 1870-CC Double Eagles. (more…)

By Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

During one of the auctions preceding the recent ANA convention, an 1854-O Double Eagle ($20 gold coin) sold for a record $494,500. Bowers and Merena (California), a division of Spectrum Numismatics, auctioned this 1854-O along with a wide variety of other U.S. coins on August 4. Herein, I will discuss the supply and demand of 1854-O Double Eagles, and I will put forth my findings regarding the pedigrees (ownership histories) of three of them.

The ‘O’ mintmark on the reverse (back of the coin) stands for New Orleans. All New Orleans Mint Double Eagles struck from 1854 to 1861 are very rare. The 1856-O is probably the rarest, and the 1854-O is the second rarest New Orleans Mint Double Eagle ($20 gold coin). Aside from an 1861 Philadelphia issue with a stylistically different reverse die, the 1854-O and the 1856-O are the two rarest business strike Liberty Head Double Eagles (1850-1907).

Back in March, this same auction firm, Bowers and Merena, auctioned an 1856-O Double Eagle for $356,500. It was from the collection of the late Jack Bains. That was the last time that an 1856-O has sold at auction.

This 1854-O and the Bains 1856-O are both certified, graded and encapsulated by the Professional Coin Grading Service. The PCGS and the Numismatic Guaranty Corp. (NGC) are the two leading grading services. This 1854-O is PCGS graded AU-55 and the Bains 1856-O is graded AU-53.

In my CoinLink article on 1856-O Double Eagles, which was published just prior to the sale of the Bains piece, I estimated that fifteen or sixteen 1856-O Double Eagles exist. The 1854-O is not as rare as the 1856-O.
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