1855-S Liberty Head Double Eagle. MS-61 (PCGS).

Vibrant gold surfaces are sharply struck with a full endowment of frosty mint luster and accentuated with rose iridescence. Production of double eagles went into high gear at the San Francisco Mint in 1855 owing to the continuing influx of bullion from the region's gold fields. The 1855-S has a mintage more than six times that of the preceding freshman year, 1854, when the facility was getting started and gaining speed. Most of the 879,675 coins struck were used in commerce on the West Coast. Uncirculated examples were once major rarities, but of the 304 coins discovered as part of the S.S. Central America treasure, 63 have subsequently been certified as Mint State by the major grading services. A smaller number of Uncirculated coins entered the market during the early 1970s from a shipwreck found off the coast of Florida but, unlike the S.S. Central America pieces, those examples have noticeably granular surfaces from shallow immersion in seawater. Thanks primarily to the S.S. Central America recovery, the 1855-S now has an extant population of 150 to 225 coins in Mint State. The present example has a markedly different appearance than the typical S.S. Central America coin, and it likely entered numismatic channels from another source, possibly as part of repatriations from a European or Central American bank. In any event, this is a fresh and original piece with superior eye appeal for the assigned grade. Worthy of the strongest bids!

PCGS# 8916. NGC ID: 268X.

From the Fairmont Collection.