1857-O $20 MS(PCGS#8921)

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

Auktionator

Stack's Bowers

Losnummer

20026

Erhaltungsgrad

AU53

Preis

15.000

Losbeschreibung

This is an attractive, undeniably rare AU 1857-O double eagle, an issue that is elusive even in lower circulated grades. Handsome medium olive-orange color blankets both sides. Ample evidence of a frosty finish can be seen, with semi-reflectivity that is most pronounced in the protected areas around the devices. Although most survivors of this issue are softly struck, this piece is well produced by early New Orleans Mint standards. Overall detail is bold, and the O mintmark is fully appreciable. A superior quality coin for both the issue and the assigned grade that stands tall among the double eagle offerings our current sale of the James A. Stack, Sr. Collection.<p>The 1857-O and 1858-O are anomalies among New Orleans Mint double eagles from the late 1850s, being the only two issues from that era with mintages in excess of 10,000 coins. For the 1857-O, government records provide a figure of 30,000 pieces struck, still a paltry total. The New Orleans Mint received very little gold bullion from California after the San Francisco Mint commenced coinage operations in 1854. Additionally, the Louisiana facility was closed in the early part of 1857 due to repair work to the building.<p>The 1857-O is in the fourth rarity tier among New Orleans Mint double eagles, ranking alongside the 1858-O. Examples are elusive in all grades, with Douglas Winter (<em>Gold Coins of the New Orleans Mint: 1839-1909</em>, 2025) providing for just 250 to 300 coins extant. Q. David Bowers takes a stricter approach with an estimate of 90 to 150 survivors in his <em>Guide Book of Double Eagle Gold Coins</em>, although that reference was published earlier (2004). Both authors are in agreement that fewer than a dozen Mint State coins are extant. This is one of our most significant offerings at the About Uncirculated level in recent decades. Interested parties are urged to pursue this coin with vigor, for once it finds its way into another advanced cabinet, it may be many years before an example of comparable desirability appears on the market.