Astounding 1866 Double Eagle
MS64 ★ Deep Mirror Prooflike

1866 $20 MS64 Deep Mirror Prooflike NGC. Seasoned numismatists are careful to avoid the term "finest known." One must consider the possibility that a finer example of a certain issue exists in an old, private collection, or that another certified example is actually undergraded and is technically finer, despite the label on the holder. Occasionally, however, a special coin comes along that is so magnificent in quality and beauty relative to other known examples that an exception to the rule is made and the term "finest known" can be applied with confidence. The current offering is one such coin.
As of (6/08) NGC has certified 472 1866 double eagles. Of those, only 41 have qualified as Mint State pieces with 37 at the MS60 and MS61 levels. Not only is this MS64 coin the finest graded at NGC, it is also the sole example to have earned the Deep Mirror Prooflike notation. In addition, NGC has awarded this piece a designation due to its exceptional eye appeal. PCGS has certified 18 coins of this issue in the Uncirculated range, with the finest an MS64 with no further qualifiers regarding surface characteristics. A few proofs--out of an original mintage of 30 coins--do exist at higher grade levels, but the fact that an 1866 With Motto business strike twenty managed to survive in such a splendid state of preservation is astonishing. This coin must have a story to tell. It is clear that it was produced from freshly lapped dies. That would explain the deeply mirrored fields. We know that such dies will lose their mirrored surfaces after 100 or fewer strikes, so this coin was already in the minority of the issue as a whole, but how did a gold coin with delicate, mirrored surfaces manage to survive the years at the near-Gem level? Could this piece have been the first coin struck off of a set of new dies, and saved as a memento by a mint employee? One can only fantasize in that regard, but where the fantasy stops and reality begins is when this piece is examined in person.
This coin was apparently unknown to past writers and researchers. David Akers (1982) writes of this issue: "The 1866 is scarce in all grades, roughly comparable overall to the 1865, 1872, 1874, and 1875. It is, however, far more rare than the latter three dates in Uncirculated condition. Most known 1866s grade in the VF-AU range although at the highest end of that range (AU55), the population thins out rather dramatically. Average Uncirculated (60) specimens are known but are rare. I have seen a couple of Choice Uncs but nothing at the Gem level." Even more recent references fail to mention a near-Gem with Deep Mirror Prooflike surfaces, including Dave Bowers in his 2004 A Guide Book of Double Eagle Gold Coins. Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth (2006) state that "only one of the known Uncirculated examples of this date is of choice condition," and that "the finest example seen at auction in recent years has been an NGC MS61 coin ... ." While anything is possible, the emergence of a finer--or even equal--1866 business strike twenty is highly unlikely.
As one might expect, at first glance this piece looks like a proof. That is just how deeply mirrored the fields are. In addition, the devices are thickly frosted, further making the coin appear like a cameo proof. However, closer examination of the fields shows they lack the orange-peel texture seen on many proofs from this era. Also, there are numerous small abrasions, none of any particular note, scattered over the obverse. A circulation strike would have come into contact with other coins before it was set aside unlike a proof striking, a further confirmation of this coin's status as a business strike. Even reddish tinted orange-gold color is seen over each side of this magnificent first-year Type Two twenty.
(#78949)

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