Auction Name: 2026 March 26 - 28 US Coins Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 3245

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/1391*3245

1879-O $20 AU55 NGC. Winter-1. Orange-gold surfaces contain slight prooflike mirroring in select protected areas. Weakness is only attested on the uppermost strands of obverse hair. Defects are scattered and minor, in sharp contrast to most examples of this issue, which exhibit deep abrasions, and additionally, discoloration. This example avoids both fates. Regarding this issue, Doug Winter states, "[t]he eye appeal for the 1879-O double eagle is well below average...[t]he nit-picky collector may have to wait many years for the chance to buy the 'right' example." Given the superlative qualities of the present offering, the wait is over.

The 1879-O completes the trifecta of ultra-low mintage New Orleans double eagle issues, joining the famed 1854-O and 1856-O. In fact, its mintage of 2,325 coins is significantly smaller than the 1854-O's production of 3,250 and almost reaches the 1856-O's output of 2,250 double eagles. However, the present issue is much more available to collectors. Some 1879-O examples were exported and more were saved overall than the issue's 1850s counterparts. Bowers estimates about 100 survivors, Garrett and Guth suggest less than 150, while Winter narrows the range down to 115-135. For 1854 and 1856, Winter suggests 30-40 known of each, while Garrett and Guth and Bowers each posit fewer than 25 survivors for 1856 and in the 25-35 range for 1854. Therefore, depending on which estimate is used, there are about 4-6x the number of survivors for 1879-O than for 1854-O or 1856-O.

While the 1854-O and 1856-O have greater rarity (and therefore greater prices), the 1879-O gains significant additional collecting pressure due to its position within the series. The New Orleans Mint's first tenure came to an end in 1861 with the state's secession and the Mint's seizure by the Confederate government. Upon its reopening in 1879, it was mainly a Morgan Dollar production facility until 1890. However, there were small emissions of eagles in 1879-1883 and 1888, and its only other output was the 2,325 double eagles struck in 1879. In the 18 years since New Orleans last produced double eagles in 1861, the denomination's design had changed twice, making the 1879-O double eagle the sole Type 3 New Orleans issue, and significantly enhancing collecting demand in the process.

The 1879-O remains very rare in high grade. In the newly-published Fifth Edition of his book on New Orleans gold coins, Doug Winter lists just seven 1879-O double eagles certified as Mint State, and our and Stack's Bowers' archives show around a dozen unique examples in AU58, rounding out the list of examples that are numerically finer than the present offering. Certification numbers indicate 13 and 21 finer certifications at PCGS and NGC, respectively, although Winter states that NGC's numbers are likely inflated by resubmissions. Given that only 20 or so numerically finer examples of this date exist and that the present offering is significantly more eye appealing than most, it can be definitively proven that the wait for a choice, high-grade example, as warned by Winter, is truly over.(Registry values: N4719)

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