1851-O $20 MS(PCGS#8905)

December 2025 Showcase Auction - The James A. Stack, Sr. Collection Part I

Commissaire-priseur

Stack's Bowers

Numéro du lot

20019

Grade

MS61

Prix

55 200

Description du lot

Advanced mintmarked gold type collectors and double eagle enthusiasts take note: this is one of only five examples of the 1851-O to have met with CAC approval at the Mint State level. It is a lovely coin that boasts full originality, displaying deep honey-gold and lighter pinkish-apricot colors. Southern gold specialist Doug Winter (2025) observes, "The luster on the 1851-O tends to be among the best seen on any Type One double eagle from New Orleans," and this flashy piece certainly does not disappoint in this regard. It illustrates the less frequently encountered luster type of the issue, with subtle reflectivity in the fields enhancing an otherwise hard, frosty finish. Equally impressive is the strike, which has imparted razor sharp to full definition throughout the design. Wispy handling marks are both fewer in number and less visually distracting than typically seen for a Mint State early date double eagle, especially one certified MS-60, MS-61 or MS-62. Indeed, this piece offers superior quality and eye appeal at the MS-61 level, fully justifying approval from both CAC and CMQ.<p>After a modest mintage of 141,000 pieces in 1850, the New Orleans Mint increased double eagle output to 315,000 coins in 1851. Clearly more gold from California reached the Crescent City, and the 1851-O actually has the highest mintage among New Orleans Mint double eagles. Perhaps not surprisingly, this is the most frequently encountered O-Mint double eagle. Survivors are scarce in an absolute sense, however, and particularly relative to those of many Philadelphia Mint issues of the era such as the 1851, 1852 and 1853. As with all early date Liberty Head double eagle issues, the 1851-O is typically offered in circulated grades, most grading EF-40 through low end AU. Mint State survivors are exceedingly rare; most of which have survived purely as a matter of chance. There was no contemporary numismatic interest in these early double eagles, especially from the New Orleans Mint. Writing in the 2004 reference <em>A Guide Book of Double Eagle Gold Coins</em>, Q. David Bowers asserts that only six to 10 Uncirculated 1851-O double eagles are extant, although Doug Winter gives an updated estimate of 15 to 20 such pieces in the 2025 edition of <em>Gold Coins of the New Orleans Mint: 1839-1909</em>. Recent finds in Europe and elsewhere have increased the total and account for Winter's range, but Mint State 1851-O double eagles remain rare. With most such pieces visually unappealing, below average in surface quality and/or no longer retaining their originality, the significance of this CAC-approved offering can hardly be overstated.<p>Doug Winter (2025) identifies four die marriages for this issue, coined from two obverse and three reverse dies. The present example represents Winter Reverse B with a weakly impressed (into the die) O mintmark centered over the letter N in TWENTY. The obverse, however, is not included in the Winter reference. The left edge of the first digit 1 in the date is just left of center over a dentil, and the right edge of the final digit 1 is over the right edge of a dentil.