US Coins

1875 Coronet gold $10 eagle dominates Heritage

By Steve Roach

Published: Mar 13, 2018, 6 AM

With perhaps fewer than a dozen known from an original mintage of 100, the 1875 Coronet $10 eagle is a landmark rarity and this AU-50 example realized $372,000 at Heritage’s Feb. 22 Long Beach auction.

Original images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

The 1875 Coronet $10 eagle had a mintage of 100, with maybe a dozen surviving today, making it a key to the series.

Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

The Admiral Collection, featuring one of the finest collections of Coronet gold $10 eagles ever assembled, set records at Heritage’s Feb. 22 to 26 Long Beach Expo auction.

An 1875 eagle topped bidding, followed by two New Orleans Mint issues, both certified by Professional Coin Grading Service and carrying green Certified Acceptance Corp. stickers: an 1842-O Coronet eagle graded Mint State 63 and an 1897-O eagle graded MS-67 that brought $288,000 and $264,000, respectively.

Here is an About Uncirculated example that shows the collecting challenges inherent in this long-running series, with a result that indicates the strong demand for choice representatives.

Wendell Wolka concludes his series of columns on allegorical figures depicted on obsolete notes with tips on identifying several figures by their accessories. Also in this issue, we take a look at a few of the dozens of abbreviations in numismatics.

The Lot:

1875 Coronet gold $10 eagle, About Uncirculated 50

The Price:

$372,000

The Story:

The top lot of Heritage’s February Long Beach auctions was an 1875 Coronet $10 eagle graded AU-50 by Numismatic Guaranty Corp. that sold for a hearty $372,000. The issue enjoys wide demand beyond dedicated Coronet eagle collectors, since its mintage of 100 is the lowest among regular issue U.S. coins. Of these, perhaps a dozen survive, and the offered example is one of just three examples graded AU-50. It was last offered at public auction at New England Rare Coin Galleries’ July 1979 American Numismatic Association auction in Saint Louis.

The top example is graded NGC AU-55, followed by a PCGS AU-53+ coin that brought $345,000 at Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ August 2011 ANA auction. Another example, graded PCGS AU-50, brought $211,500 at a February 2014 Heritage auction. As Heritage noted, “Often, the caliber of a fine 10 dollar gold set is measured by the quality of a few key dates — if they are outstanding, it is almost certain the balance of the coins will be remarkable as well.” The Admiral Collection did not disappoint.

Connect with Coin World: