1862 $20 PR65 Cameo NGC....

Description

Extremely Rare 1862 Double Eagle, PR65 Cameo
The Finest Cameo Proof
The Eliasberg Specimen

1862 $20 PR65 Cameo NGC. The Baltimore financier, Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. (1896-1976) formed the only complete collection of United States coins ever assembled. Eliasberg initially began collecting coins as a means of gold possession following the 1933 gold recall. Collectors were still allowed to own gold coins so long as the dates and mintmarks were different. Soon, he caught the numismatic affliction, and formed a world-class cabinet. His collection ranks among the finest ever sold. Eliasberg, Norweb, and Garrett are the three most famous in numismatics, and advanced numismatists are always excited to acquire coins with those names as part of the provenance.

Eliasberg actually owned two 1862 proof double eagles. His duplicate appeared in the H.R. Lee Collection sale offered by Stack's in October 1947, stating that the coin was from their sale of the Bell Collection three years earlier. Lee was an acronym using Eliasberg's initials, preceded by his mother's initials. She was Hortense Rosalind Eliasberg. The present piece is apparently the Clapp coin, earlier from the collection of Major William B. Wetmore, although the Chapman brothers described that coin as "slightly hair-marked."

The Philadelphia Mint coined 35 proof 1862 double eagles. Perhaps 12 to 15 of those pieces survive today. A roster of known pieces would be a worthwhile pursuit. NGC has certified five proof 1862 double eagles (3/14) as PR63 Cameo, PR64 Cameo (3), PR65 Cameo, and PR65 Ultra Cameo. PCGS has certified six examples as PR62, PR64, PR64 Cameo, PR64 Deep Cameo (2), and PR65 Deep Cameo. There is likely some overlap in the census figures for those 11 coins. For example, the present piece is illustrated at PCGS Coin Facts with the grade of PR64 Deep Cameo PCGS, and also appears on the NGC Coin Explorer at its present grade of PR65 Cameo NGC. Among known examples are two deeply contrasted proofs in the Smithsonian Institution.

An impressive double eagle, this piece displays deep field-to-device contrast, with brilliant and lustrous yellow-gold devices that appear to float over deeply mirrored orange-gold fields. The surfaces show a few minuscule contact marks that serve to identify this coin as the Eliasberg specimen.
Ex: Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection; Eliasberg Estate (Bowers and Ruddy,10/1982), lot 907; Heritage (1/2013), lot 5940. Believed earlier from the W.B. Wetmore Collection (Chapman Brothers, 6/1906); John H. Clapp Collection; and the Clapp Estate.
From The Charles G. Wright Family Collection.(Registry values: P7)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 26DD, PCGS# 89074, Greysheet# 9994)

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper
Weight: 33.44 grams
AGW: 1.06oz

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.

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