The Rian’s Bequest Collection offered in Heritage’s Jan. 13 Florida United Numismatist auctions in Dallas was especially strong in rare Carson City Mint gold coins, such as this 1876-CC Coronet gold $10 eagle.

The coin is graded About Uncirculated 58 by Professional Coin Grading Service with a green Certified Acceptance Corp. sticker.

The low mintage of 4,696 pieces was delivered in two batches that year: 2,580 in February followed by 2,116 coins in May. The release pre-dated the interest in Mint mark collecting, and while 1876 was an important year as America’s centennial, no Mint State survivors are known.

This one first surfaced at a 1994 Heritage auction. Carson City Mint specialist Rusty Goe considers it “undeniably the finest known survivor.” It realized $57,500 at Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ August 2012 presentation of the Battle Born Collection, and in Dallas it brought $192,000.

Stack’s Bowers praised its appearance then, writing, “The present example is a bit softly defined over the hair curls above Liberty’s brow, but the balance of the obverse is bold, and the reverse is fairly sharp throughout,” while Heritage more recently said, “Much prooflike reflectivity is evident in the fields when the coin is tilted in the light, and overall eye appeal is outstanding.”

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