1854 Liberty Head Eagle. AU-58 (PCGS).An engaging light honey-rose example with nearly full luster and virtually all design elements sharply defined. Even at an early date the 1854 eagle was regarded as scarce. An example is provided by lot 1265 in the Dr. James R. Chilton Collection sold by Bangs, Merwin, & Company in March of 1865:<em>"1854 Good and scarce. Dickeson, page 172."</em>The Dickeson reference is to the <em>American Numismatic Manual</em>, the most impressive work on American rare coins produced up to that point in time. In the years to follow, 1854 eagles appeared at auction now and then, never with frequency, as large denomination circulation strikes were not particularly popular with numismatists of earlier generations. Among those that were offered, nearly all were in lower circulated grades, generally what we would classify as VF or EF by todays standards. This is still the case, the present near-Mint example an important condition rarity that deserves serious bidder consideration.
