1868 Liberty Head Double Eagle. AU-58 (PCGS). A beautiful example, both sides possess appreciable semi-reflective qualities in the fields. Otherwise satiny in finish, sharp striking detail and vivid rose-gold patina are also praiseworthy attributes. Most Type II Liberty double eagles of 1866 to 1876 are highly elusive in Mint State and Choice AU condition, and even "common date" Type II twenties such as the 1873 Open 3 and 1875-S are scarce relative to the market demand for them. This is actually the rarest Type II Liberty twenty from the Philadelphia Mint, per Doug Winter and Mike Fuljenz, and its sure to see significant interest.The nation was still picking up the pieces from the Civil War when the modest mintage of only 98,575 double eagles rolled off the Philadelphia Mints presses in 1868. Preservation of such a high denomination coin like a double eagle was not among the priorities at the time. Most of these comparatively few coins were used for international payments an spent decades in bank vaults before finally being repatriated. As a result, most of the surviving examples are in the middle to higher end of the circulated grade scale and very few Mint State and those are mostly heavily abraded. Delightful Choice AU 1868 double eagles are few and far between. An opportunity not easily overlooked.
