1849-O G$1 Open Wreath MS65+ PCGS Secure. Gold CAC. Variety 1....

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1849-O Variety 1 Gold Dollar, MS65+
Unusual Sharp Strike
Gold CAC-Approved

1849-O G$1 Open Wreath MS65+ PCGS Secure. Gold CAC. Variety 1. Ex: Duckor. This MS65+ 1849-O gold dollar is an exception to the usual weak strike, as the design features are sharply delineated. Frosty yellow mint luster is seen throughout, accented with warm reddish-gold color. A minuscule inclusion over Liberty's head and a short grease stain at the right side of the wreath will help identify the coin.

Variety and Die State: Breen-6010, Winter-1, with delicate stars at the upper obverse. The R in DOLLAR and the ME in AMERICA are sharply doubled. The mintmark is upright. Trivial die rust appears on both sides, although neither die is cracked.

Population (6/15): PCGS has certified seven examples in MS65 and two in MS65+, including this piece. There are none finer at PCGS, although NGC reports four in MS66 and one in MS66+. CAC has awarded the gold label to just 12 Type One gold dollars, and the present piece is the finest of those 12 coins, followed by two MS63 coins and an MS60. The remaining Type One gold label pieces grade XF40 to AU55.

For the entire gold dollar denomination from 1849 to 1889, PCGS and NGC have certified 8,396 examples in MS65 or finer grades, yet just six coins from that population have earned the coveted Gold CAC approval.

Commentary: All known examples of the 1849-O gold dollar are of the Open Wreath variety, as no Close Wreath dies were received at the New Orleans Mint in time for the 1849 coinage. The 1849-O can be obtained with minimal difficulty through MS62, while Select and near-Gem examples will take somewhat more patience and searching. Gems, on the other hand, are seldom seen and quite desirable; anything finer is virtually unobtainable.

Douglas Winter Commentary: The 1849-O is numismatically significant as the first gold dollar produced at the New Orleans Mint. It is far more available than its southern counterparts, the 1849-C and the 1849-D, and hundreds exist in Uncirculated, mostly in the MS60 to MS62 range. Gem 1849-O dollars are very rare and there are likely not more than four or five known of which the Duckor coin, obtained from Heritage's October 2011 sale (lot 4599) at a record-setting $29,900, is almost certainly the finest.

Before this coin became available in 2011, Steve had me look at it for him and I told him, enthusiastically, how much I liked it. I remember telling him that I was especially smitten with the color and the rich frosty luster, both of which were exceptional for the date and grade.

The only other auction record for a MS65 PCGS gold dollar was in Part Two of the Bass Collection, lot 33, that realized a modest $10,350 back in 1999. It will be interesting to see what the Duckor coin, which stands alone at the top of the Condition Census, brings.

It should also be noted, for those of us who care about such things, that this is the only "Gold CAC" gold dollar dated prior to 1878 which is graded MS65 or finer.

Provenance: Heritage (10/2011), lot 4599.

The New Orleans Mint in 1849: The Act of Congress that authorized the gold-producing branches in Charlotte and Dahlonega also established a Mint at New Orleans, Louisiana, for the purpose of gold and silver production. This is the only 19th or early 20th century branch mint that was not located in or near a gold-bearing region of the United States. New Orleans was chosen as the closest U.S. port city to the gold- and silver-producing nations of Central and South America. It also became an important coinage facility once gold was discovered in California.

Officers of the New Orleans Mint in 1849 included: Superintendent Joseph M. Kennedy, who was more interested in his social status than his duties at the mint; Mint Treasurer John R. Macmurdo, who also served as an assistant treasurer of the United States; Coiner John Brooks; Melter and Refiner Maximilian F. Bonzano; Assayer William P. Hort; and two clerks.

Like the branch mints at Charlotte and Dahlonega, the New Orleans Mint closed at the dawn of the Civil War in 1861. Unlike the other two facilities, the Louisiana mint reopened in 1879, producing further coinage until 1909. The building continues to stand at its original location on the edge of the French Quarter.
From The Duckor Family Collection of Gold Dollars.(Registry values: N4719)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 25BE, PCGS# 7508, Greysheet# 8056)

Weight: 1.67 grams

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper

View all of [The Duckor Family Collection of Gold Dollars ]

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