1899 Liberty Head Double Eagle. MS-65+ (NGC). A vibrant Gem with intense satiny luster and original peach patina dusting the surfaces. Well struck and particularly smooth on the reverse. A mint-made planchet flaw near star 12 serves as a convenient pedigree marker. The double eagle presses in Philadelphia turned out 1,669,300 circulation strikes in 1899, nearly 1.5 million more than in the previous year. Face value amounted to $33,386,000. Much of the mintage was used in overseas business and banking transactions as, by this time, paper money was preferred domestically to gold coins except in certain areas of the West. However, much of the known Mint State population has returned to the United States in the past several decades. With 25,000 to 45,000 or more Uncirculated examples available to todays collectors the 1899 is obviously a plentiful issue, especially in the MS-60 to MS-63 grade range. At the MS-65 level it becomes quite scarce and is virtually unavailable any finer. This MS-65+ is an expertly preserved specimen, ranking among the finest certified and is undeniably rare from a condition standpoint. Just two have been graded finer by NGC at MS-66.
