1874-S $20 MS(PCGS#8972)

Spring 2022 U.S. Coins Auction

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

5428

Grade

MS62+

Price

10.800

Lot Description

1874-S Liberty Head Double Eagle. MS-62+ (PCGS). CAC. Awash in original golden-wheat color with a tinge of pinkish-rose evident. Both sides are lustrous, sharply struck and remarkably smooth for the issue. The mintage for the 1874-S double eagle is 1,214,000 pieces, a marginally larger figure than that of the 1873-S. Much of the mintage made it into overseas transactions, and numerous Mint State examples came home in the twilight years of the 20th century. In 1874 the new San Francisco Mint opened, a modern facility with state of the art equipment, far finer than the original building it replaced. From that point forward, until 1937, this was the main center for coinage as well as storage of coins on the West Coast. In 1937 it was replaced by a new structure that is still in use today. We estimate that 700 to 1,000 Mint State examples of the 1874-S double eagle are known. To repeat a popular chorus, this issue, once rare in Mint State, is relatively easy to find today. Most examples offered in the market grade MS-60 or MS-61, however, and very few are nearly Choice, as here. Provenance: From the Fairmont Collection-Hendricks Set. PCGS Population: 8; 4 finer (all MS-63). CAC Population: 18; 1. The latter total includes coins certified both MS-62 and MS-62+. PCGS# 8972. NGC ID: 26AR. Click here for certification details from PCGS. Image with the PCGS TrueView logo is obtained from and is subject to a license agreement with Collectors Universe, Inc. and its divisions PCGS and PSA.