1859 Liberty Double Eagle. AU-50 (NGC).；Although its reported mintage of 43,597 pieces clearly conveys the fact that this is a scarce coin, just exactly how scarce it is, is best appreciated by experts in the field: Doug Winter notes that while it has the second-lowest mintage of any Type-I Philadelphia double eagle, in high grades (as this) it is the rarest - ignoring, of course the uncollectable unique 1849 and the 1861 Paquet reverse pieces. Earlier David Akers confessed that it was one of his "pet date" double eagles because of its unappreciated rarity, and went on to say that "in any grade, the 1859 must be considered rare." Both Winter and Akers acknowledge that this issue almost universally comes very heavily bagmarked, and suggest that the collector seeking near perfect examples for their collection will simply have to adjust their standards and accept slightly less. Interestingly, Akers, writing a generation ago, said that he had never seen a truly Uncirculated example in hand.<br /><br />The example we are offering today has been graded AU-50 by NGC, and easily meets all the qualifications for that grade - there is just a trace of wear evident on the high points of Miss Libertys hair, as well as on the eagles neck and on the double scroll bearing the U. S. Motto. The previously mentioned bag marks are present in typical abundance on both sides, but none rise to the level of being overly distracting. Very handsome and wholesome, and a real treat for the discriminating numismatist.
