Douglas Winter Numismatics of Portland Oregon, [www.raregoldcoins.com], a specialist in choice and rare United States gold coinage, recently sold one of the finest known examples of the very rare 1856-O double eagle. According to Winter, the coin was graded AU55 by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and was purchased from Summit Numismatics of St. Paul Minnesota for $525,000. It was sold to a New England collector who specializes in New Orleans gold coinage.

Said Winter, “Handling this coin was a real thrill for me. I have bought and sold a number of other 1856-O double eagles including the finest known but this was the first I have handled in a few years. My client has been searching for a nice example of this rarity for a few years and I was happy to be able to sell him what I thought was an especially nice coin for the date and grade.”

The 1856-O double eagle is the rarest gold coin struck at the New Orleans mint, narrowly eclipsing the 1854-O double eagle. There were a total of 2,250 pieces originally struck of which an estimated 20-30 are known today. PCGS has graded a total of eleven coins including four in AU55 and two in AU58

Winter, who published the standard reference work on New Orleans gold coins in 2006 entitled “Gold Coins of the New Orleans Mint, 1839-1909” has researched the availability of high grade examples of the 1856-O double eagle and believes that only four to six are known in properly graded About Uncirculated as well as a single piece in Uncirculated.

According to Winter, “I believe that the coin in the New England collection may be the third finest known 1856-O double eagle. The only better pieces I know of are the remarkable NGC Specimen-63 that was last sold by Heritage as Lot 6372 in their June 2004 auction and a PCGS AU58 owned by a prominent Midwestern collector that is probably from the famous Eliasberg collection sold by Bowers and Ruddy in 1982.”

Double eagles were produced by the New Orleans mint from 1850 through 1861 and again in 1879. A total of thirteen different issues were coined with a total mintage figure of just 831,516. Due to their size, they are extremely popular with collectors and are probably the most sought-after gold coins from New Orleans.

“Everyone who collects double eagles dreams of owning an 1856-O,” Winter stated. Due to the popularity of this issue, examples are usually only offered for sale when great collections are auctioned. “The owner of the New England collection was thrilled to add this coin to his collection. He believes that his collection of New Orleans coinage now rivals virtually any set ever formed.

Douglas Winter Numismatics is located in Portland, Oregon and specializes in choice and rare United States gold coinage struck between 1795 and 1933. The firm’s website is www.raregoldcoins.com. For more information on the 1856-O double eagle or on any United States gold issue, please contact Doug Winter by email, at dwn@ont.com.

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