LOT #4490 |
Sold on Aug 12, 2015 for: Sign-in
or Join (free & quick)
1881 $20 MS61 NGC....
Click the image to load the highest resolution version.
Sold on Aug 12, 2015 for:
$141,000.00
Bid Source: Mail/Fax bidder
Description
1881 Double Eagle, Seldom-Seen MS61
Mintage of 2,199 Circulation Strikes
Tied for Finest Graded
1881 $20 MS61 NGC. Ex: Duquesne. For the first time since
the Civil War nearly a generation earlier, gold coins could be seen
in circulation again, beginning unofficially on December 17, 1878,
when parity was achieved between paper currency, gold, and silver,
and officially on January 1, 1879, when the Specie Redemption Act
took effect. American citizens, as they became aware that the paper
currency they held was "as good as gold," opted for the convenience
and light weight of the paper, rather than the heavy, bulky gold
coinage that backed it.This was a far cry from the darkest days of the Civil War. In 1863, before the Battle of Gettysburg, it required $250 in federal paper money (Demand Notes, issued in 1861-62, or United States Notes, issued starting in 1862 through 1865, both backed by nothing but the credibility of the U.S. government) to purchase $100 worth of gold coins.
After parity, mintages of the smaller gold coin denominations -- gold dollars, quarter eagles, and three dollars -- plunged in favor of half eagles, eagles, and, especially, double eagles, most of them churned out in vast numbers at the San Francisco Mint. But double eagles were too large for everyday transactions, and Treasury officials determined to try to get more gold coins of lower denominations into circulation. Of the 1880-1881 period, Rusty Goe writes in The Mint on Carson Street:
"... double eagle output was decreased on a national scale as the Treasury implemented its new policy of expanding the distribution of $5 and $10 gold pieces.
"It was the Treasury's conviction that if more gold coins in denominations less than twenty dollars were in reserve at Mint offices around the country, depositors would accept these coins in payment in lieu of waiting for additional double eagles to be struck."
Q. David Bowers' U.S. Liberty Head $20 Double Eagles, published in 2014, offers this from September 1879, quoting Bankers' Magazine:
"The Mining Record speaks complainingly of the fact that the great bulk of the gold coinage at the United States Mints consists now, and has consisted for the past twenty-five years, of double eagles, which, from their size, do not get into common circulation, but are used as public and banking reserves, or exported as so much stamped bullion."
The Philadelphia Mint double eagle mintages of the late 1870s through mid-1880s reflect a conscious decision on the part of Treasury officials to increase the amount of half eagles and eagles in circulation, largely at the expense of the double eagle denomination. Take a look at the Philadelphia Mint double eagle mintage figures for circulation strikes from 1878 through 1888:
1878: 543,625 coins
1879: 207,600
1880: 51,420
1881: 2,199
1882: 571
1883: (proof only, 92)
1884: (proof only, 71)
1885: 751
1886: 1,000
1887: (proof only, 121)
1888: 226,161
An 1881 double eagle, such as the present MS61 NGC example, represents the first wave of a yearslong effort that would result in more small-denomination gold in circulation, but minuscule productions of double eagles -- and some years would see none struck for circulation at all. This marvelous collection contains an example of each of the low-mintage years listed here from 1881 through 1887, including the three proof-only issues.
This MS61 NGC 1881 double eagle is tied for the finest certified at either service. NGC shows a total of three submissions in this grade, PCGS two. NGC also reports a single MS61 Prooflike (4/15). David Akers wrote of this issue years ago, "Overall, the 1881 is almost identical in rarity to the lower mintage 1885 and just a little less rare than the 1886. In AU or Unc., however, the 1881 is possibly the rarest of the three." This piece displays beautiful reddish-orange coloration with much prooflike reflectivity in evidence, as expected for such a low-mintage issue in this grade. Numerous bagmarks from coin-to-coin contact dot each side, but the surfaces overall are pleasingly attractive for the grade, far nicer than what is sometimes seen in the Liberty Head series at this numeric level. The sharp, bold strike adds further to the appeal.
The present coin marks the first time we have offered an NGC coin of this date, at least since we began our Permanent Auction Archives in 1993. The last MS61 PCGS example we handled, in our FUN Signature (Heritage, 4/2015), lot 4389, realized $141,000.
From The Duquesne Collection.(Registry values: N1)
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 all of [The Duquesne Collection (Liberty double eagles) ]
Auction Info
2015 August 12 - 16 ANA US Coins Signature Auction - Chicago #1223 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
August, 2015
12th-16th
Wednesday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 19
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 2,154
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
17.5% of the successful bid per lot.
Shipping, Taxes, Terms and Bidding
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms | US & World Coin Grading Tutorial
Important information concerning Sales Tax and Resale Certificates. Learn More
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms | US & World Coin Grading Tutorial