Liberty Double Eagles
1853-O $20 AU55 NGC. Variety 1. Among the early 1850s New Orleans issues, only the 1850-O is scarcer than the 1853-O in Choice About Uncirculated grade or finer. After that, all bets are off. The 1854-O starts a string of very rare O-mint double eagles that does not abate until series end. The 1853-O is an ideal representative of the Southern mint for those wanting to ramp up the scarcity without a large increase in expenditure.
The issue was struck in relatively small quantity -- just 71,000 pieces, the smallest production of the pre-1854 double eagles regardless of mint. This example is lightly abraded with attractive orange-gold toning and nice remaining mint luster. The strike is sharp, with slight wear on the lower curls and hair bun. Census: 34 in 55, 31 finer (3/17).
HID02901242017