1872 Liberty Head Double Eagle. MS-61 (PCGS). Wonderfully original surfaces are frosty in texture with a full endowment of warm honey-rose patina. Mintage for this issue amounted to 251,850 circulation strikes with a total face value of $5,037,000. A good portion of the mintage was sent overseas at a later time, and many high grade EF and AU pieces, along with some Mint State coins, found their way back to America beginning with the efforts of Paul Wittlin and James F. Kelly in the 1950s. Perhaps 80 to 120 Uncirculated 1872 double eagles are known today, and the discerning collector would be hard pressed to find a more appealing example than this in an MS-61 holder. From the Fairmont Collection.
