So...You've Decided to Collect Liberty Head Double Eagles...

So...You've Decided to Collect Liberty Head Double Eagles...

The decision to collect this series should not be made lightly as Liberty Head double eagles have the distinction as being among the most difficult and longest-lived series in all of 19th/early 20th century American numismatics.

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So...What's the Third Rarest No Motto New Orleans Eagle in High Grades?

So...What's the Third Rarest No Motto New Orleans Eagle in High Grades?

It’s pretty obvious that the two rarest No Motto New Orleans eagles in higher grades are the 1841-O and the 1859-O, but there’s a lot of competition for the number three (and four) spots…

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The Appearance Rarity of Liberty Head Quarter Eagles: How CAC Populations Help Determine Which Dates Are Rare

The Appearance Rarity of Liberty Head Quarter Eagles: How CAC Populations Help Determine Which Dates Are Rare

After more than a decade of viewing coins, the numbers which CAC has approved are now a significant sample size. In the case of Liberty Head quarter eagles, I believe that any issue with fewer than eight pieces approved show true appearance rarity.

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How Rare are Non-Shipwreck Gem Type One Double Eagles?

How Rare are Non-Shipwreck Gem Type One Double Eagles?

In the recent Stacks Bowers 2016 ANA Sale, I was fortunate to purchase an amazing 1860 double eagle, graded MS65 by PCGS, which was part of the Bull Run Collection and earlier was sold as Lot 900 in the famous October 1982 Eliasberg Collection auction.

After I bought this coin, I told another dealer that the Eliasberg 1860 “was the finest non-shipwreck Type One double eagle I had ever owned.” This got me to thinking: just how rare are non-shipwreck MS65 and finer double eagles of this type?

 

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Civil War Eagles: A Rarity Study with Condition Census Information

Civil War Eagles: A Rarity Study with Condition Census Information

This is the first of potentially many articles which focus on rarity and Condition Census information in the Liberty Head eagle series. The first sub-group I’m going to focus on is the 11 Civil War issues. These coins are, with one exception, rare in all grades and a number of them are either unknown or excessively rare in Uncirculated.

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What are Coins with Character?

What are Coins with Character?

On the front page of my website (www.raregoldcoins.com) you will see the tagline Coins with Character. This has been the official motto of Douglas Winter Numismatics for many years, and I am often asked by collectors "what are coins with character?" There is no simple answer, but I feel that the coins I sell are blessed with one or more of the following characteristics which makes them special.

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