A circulated standout in the latest Fairmont offering, in Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ Aug. 9 auction, was a Normal Date 1865-S Coronet gold $10 eagle graded Very Fine 30 by Professional Coin Grading Service with a green Certified Acceptance Corp. sticker that sold for $17,400. The cataloger praised it, saying it offered “originality, premium quality surfaces and awesome rarity,” adding, “awash in vivid honey-gold color, warm orange-rose overtones enhance the eye appeal.”

The San Francisco Mint Civil War era issue saw a small mintage of 16,700  coins, and most entered circulation at a time when collectors didn’t avidly collect coins by Mint mark.

A second variety, featuring an inverted date, exists, and PCGS suggests that just 25 to 35 “Normal Date” examples survive. Doug Winter comments that the issue typically has heavily abraded surfaces, and most are well-worn, thus lacking significant luster.

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