By Doug Winter – RareDateGold.com

As recently as a few years ago, collecting Type Two Liberty Head double eagles was very popular. A marketing firm located in the Southwest had actively promoted this series, other firms had jumped on the Type Two bandwagon and the series had caught on with collectors.

Then, with little warning, the aforementioned marketing firm shifted their focus onto other series and suddenly the Type Two double eagles were out of favor. This has left the savvy collector with an opportunity that I find very interesting.

Before I get specific about the Type Two double eagles that I feel are overlooked and undervalued, let me give you a little bit of background about this series. The Type Two double eagles were produced from 1866 until 1876 and they are so named due to having the second major design of the Liberty Head type; in this case the addition of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse. These coins were produced at the Philadelphia, San Francisco and Carson City mints. The CC issues are well-known and avidly collected. The San Francisco issues tend to be condition rarities (i.e., they are obtainable in lower grades but scarce in higher grades). It is the Philadelphia issues that, I believe, offer the best value to collectors.

Many of the Philadelphia issues of this design type are extremely common. Dates that fall into this category include the 1873, 1875 and 1876. But there are a few that are scarce in all grades and are priced within the price parameters of many collectors. With the value levels of even common dates double eagles soaring in the recent months, these Philadelphia issues seem like particularly good value right now. (more…)