1890-S Liberty Head Double Eagle. MS-63 (PCGS).Intensely lustrous, satin to softly frosted surfaces are further enhanced by wonderfully original rose-gold patina. Fully struck. Mintage for the 1890-S was 802,750 pieces, up 25,000+ coins from the previous years San Francisco Mint double eagle delivery. Face value equaled $16,055,000. Some 1,500 to 2,500 or more examples of the date can be called Mint State today, with the majority of those pieces MS-60 or MS-61. Most of these coins returned to America in the late 20th century from foreign bank hoards. Years ago Mint State 1890-S double eagles were few and far between. There were exceptions with some "name" collections of which Stacks had a majority of listings, with Numismatic Gallery (Abe Kosoff and Abner Kreisberg) coming in second. The 1954 ANA Convention sale held in Cleveland and cataloged by the Federal Coin Exchange offered an example in VF grade, a piece that would hardly merit such an individual listing in an ANA sale today. The 1890-S is now regarded as a plentiful issue in grades up to and including MS-62, although it is scarce to rare above that mark.From the Fairmont Collection.
