| Description: |
Lustrous yellow gold surfaces with numerous bag marks and other signs of handling, though
aside from a couple of small digs hidden in the reverse legend, none of the marks are
particularly distracting. The obverse stars exhibit the usual softness, but overall the
coin is a nicely struck example.Just 2,521 pieces were struck, one of the lowest mintages
of all No Motto Liberty eagles, and it is estimated that perhaps only 2% to 4% of that
original figure exist today. As no 1858 Eagle from any mint can be considered particularly
common, the date has long been recognized by collectors as a tough one. In Mint State, the
1858 eagle is rightfully regarded as a prized rarity, and few of the known examples
approach that state of preservation. Even such great collections as that of Louis
Eliasberg, Sr., and the Norweb family did not include specimens worthy of the Mint State
designation, and the more recent offering of the Harry W. Bass Collection included only a
single specimen, graded AU-53 by PCGS. Thus, the importance of the 1858 eagle offered here
cannot be overstated. A prize for the advanced collector of United States gold.NGC Census:
2; 2 finer (MS-64 finest).The 1858 eagle is, of course, an "old-time” rarity, an
issue well recognized as being a key date in the series for a century. In his 1941 Dunham
Catalogue, B. Max Mehl knew of "no more than six specimens” and cited the absence
of this issue in such important cabinets as Parmalee, Cleneay, Stickney, and Ten Eyck as a
testament to its abiding rarity. Indeed, in more recent times, while more than six
specimens are known, the rarity of the 1858 eagle is steadfast and not prone to change.
Akers estimated a total population of 30; Breen estimated that only half that many exist.
The finest known by general consensus turned up around 1972, reportedly in the pouch it
had been housed in since 1858! That piece, the only Mint State example certified by PCGS,
is graded MS-64 today – almost 10 points finer than the second best seen by them! It
seems very probable that this coin is responsible for the single MS-64 grade assigned by
NGC as well. |
