1871 Liberty Head Double Eagle. MS-61 (NGC).Lovely rose-orange surfaces are vivid and lustrous, both sides with modestly semi-reflective fields supporting softly frosted devices. Sharply struck from the dies and uncommonly well preserved for this conditionally challenging issue. The circulation strike mintage for the 1871 double eagle was tiny for the era with just 80,120 pieces produced for a face value of $1,602,400. This is the lowest Philadelphia Mint production tally of any date in this series after 1859 and prior to 1881. Many lightly worn examples of this date were exported in later banking transactions, only to return to America in the mid to late 20th century, though this repatriation brought back very few high grade Uncirculated specimens. In fact, we suggest just 25 to 30 or so examples of this issue qualify as Mint State today, with most of those clustered around the MS-60 end of the grading scale. Uncommonly attractive at the assigned level, the coin offered here is sure to see spirited bidding at auction.
