1857-O $10 Liberty Head Eagle PCGS AU55

This is a rare No Motto Eagle issue. With its mintage of only 5,500, the 1857-O trails only the 1841-O and 1859-O in rarity for No Motto eagles from the New Orleans Mint. PCGS has graded 6 in AU55, with just 7 finer (AU58), making this piece from AUCM indeed a quite rare offering.

According to Doug Winter's second edition of his book, Gold Coins of the New Orleans Mint, 1839-1909, there exists only 70-80 pieces, which includes 14-17 in different AU grades. Significantly, the 1857-O is among a small handful of eagles from that mint that have never been certified in uncirculated grades. Doug Winter writes, "The 1857-O is a scarce, low mintage date that is usually seen in VF and EF grades. It is very scarce in AU and it becomes very rare in properly graded AU55."

A scale for weighing coins at the New Orleans Mint during the 19th century.