1883-O $10.00 NGC AU53

For years, I literally begged clients of mine who collected New Orleans gold to buy an 1883-O eagle. Here was a coin, I would say, that had everything going for it: a mintage of just 800 coins, a total population of around three dozen in all grades and a status as not only the rarest eagle from this mint but a coin that rivaled the 1854-O and 1856-O double eagles as the rarest gold coins of any denomination from New Orleans. For once, I was right and prices for this date has really exploded in the last two or three years. That said, I still think the 1883-O eagle is a good value and the supply of this issue is in no way able to keep up with the fervent demand. This remarkable coin was just discovered in Europe and it has lovely "Euro" color with deep green-gold and orange hues on the obverse and reverse. I have handled virtually every 1883-O eagle that has come onto the market in the last decade and I can only remember two others that were fully original like this. Even more incredible about this coin is its very clean surfaces. Most 1883-O eagles are excessively abraded and they tend to have the marks accentuated by their reflective, semi-PL fields. This coin has a few old ticks visible below the color but absolutely none of these deserve to be mentioned individually. The overall level of eye appeal for the date is really off-the-charts and this is the best example of this date I have seen in at least two years. Amongst recent offerings, the best comparable was Stacks Bowers 2011 ANA: 6741. Graded AU53 by NGC, it sold for $67,333. The Heritage 2011 FUN: 5209 coin, graded AU55 by NGC, brought $63,250 and it was both unattractive and recolored. This is one of the most important New Orleans eagles that I have offered all year.