1852-O Liberty Head Double Eagle. Winter-1, the only known dies. AU-53 (PCGS). CAC. Handsome honey-gold surfaces retain ample evidence of a sharply executed strike. The New Orleans Mint was the only Southern mint to produce the double eagle and only did so in modest quantities using gold provided from the vast California gold fields. 190,000 examples of the denomination were struck there in 1852, making it the second largest mintage figure for an O-Mint double eagle. These coins saw use throughout the South and the Atlantic Seaboard and seem to have only infrequently been shipped abroad in the course of international trade. One of the most available of all the New Orleans double eagles, the 1852-O can still be a challenge for the discerning specialist. Estimates vary on the number of surviving specimens, most likely in the 400 to 600 piece range, almost all of which in mid-level circulated states of preservation. No vast quantities have so far been found in repatriated hoards, though several have appeared from such holdings. A few have been found in the <em>S.S. Central America</em> and <em>S.S. Republic</em> treasures, but these have not substantially augmented the supply. Above EF, this issue is quite scarce and with less than a dozen <em>different</em> Mint State examples believed extant, appealing AU specimens are in constant demand from both double eagle collectors and Southern gold specialists.
