1881 $20 AU58 NGC....

Description

1881 Double Eagle, Semiprooflike AU58
Key Philadelphia Rarity
Extremely Rare This Well-Preserved

1881 $20 AU58 NGC. Without a doubt, the 1881 Liberty double eagle is one of the rarest Philadelphia issues in the series, and is a significant key date even among branch mint issues. Only 2,100 pieces were struck, few of which are known today. PCGS suggests only 40 to 60 examples survive, but Garrett and Guth estimate the extant population may actually be lower than 40 coins. NGC and PCGS combined list 53 grading events overall, including any unknown resubmissions, which lends some support to the latter survival estimate.

Few contemporary collectors sought circulation-issue double eagles from the Philadelphia Mint, and the rarity of the 1881 was widely overlooked for decades. Many old-time collections, including Garrett and Eliasberg, contained only proof examples of the 1881 twenty. Similarly, the Smithsonian Institution houses two proofs, but lacks a circulation-strike issue. Two notable exceptions were the Norweb and Bass Collections, which included XF45 and AU55 circulation strikes, respectively. Judging from the plate, the Norweb coin likely grades finer by today's standards.

One of the earliest known auction appearances of a circulation strike 1881 double eagle was in lot 2657 of Thomas Elder's June 1935 sale of the Wendell C. Foster Collection. The coin, called "Fine" grade, was described as "Very rare, coinage only about 2,000 pcs." However, full recognition of this issue's rarity by the general collecting public has only occurred in the past few decades. The last AU58 example we offered was lot 5550 in our 2014 FUN Signature sale, where a PCGS coin realized $111,625. We feel the currently offered piece is every bit as eye appealing. The strike is crisp throughout, and the fields display significant semiprooflike mirroring. A few scattered abrasions appear in the fields and on Liberty's portrait, as is typical for examples of this issue. Only a handful of pieces are known in this or finer grades, and it is likely that at least a few resubmissions are included in the certified population data. The opportunity to acquire this magnificent coin should not be overlooked. Census: 6 in 58, 4 finer (6/15).(Registry values: N4719)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 26BC, PCGS# 8994, Greysheet# 9819)

Weight: 33.44 grams

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper

Note for clients in the European Union: This lot is considered by the European Union to be “investment gold”. We believe that it meets the criteria established in Article 344(1), point (2) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC and thus should be exempt from import VAT regardless of the selling price. Any questions or concerns about VAT should be addressed to your accountant or local tax authority.

View Certification Details from NGC