1878 Liberty Head Double Eagle. Doubled Die Obverse, Doubled Die Reverse. MS-63 (PCGS).A lovely rose-gold example with intense mint frost to both sides. Sharply defined throughout with outstanding surface preservation and eye appeal for this conditionally challenging issue. The Doubled Die variety adds further interest, the diagnostics of which are boldest on many of the letters on the reverse. Additionally, a loupe reveals repunching to the final digit 8 in the date. The mintage for the circulation strike 1878 is 543,620 pieces, up more than 145,000 coins from the year before. Face value for the issue amounted to $10,872,400. Portions of the mintage were used in international trade. We estimate 700 to 900 or more Mint State examples can be traced today, the majority of those being MS-60 to MS-62. In MS-63, as here, the population thins quickly. Many of the Uncirculated examples seen were sent overseas in the late 19th century and drifted back to America beginning in the 1950s and continuing through later decades. Before that VF and EF coins were the best a collector could hope to obtain.PCGS Population (all varieties of the issue): 47; 10 finer (MS-64 finest).From the Fairmont Collection.