1895-S $10 Liberty Head Eagle PCGS MS61 Ex. Fairmont Collection

Formerly sold by Stacks Bowers for $6,600 on April 2022, Lot #5339, and described as:

1895-S Liberty Head Eagle. MS-61 (PCGS).

With its mintage of 49,000 this issue is a great rarity in mint state grades. That is why this offering from AUCM is so important to the specialist of the popular Liberty head eagle series. This issue is rarely presented for sale or at auction. In total, PCGS has graded only 24 examples of this issue in mint state. In MS61, PCGS has graded only 10 with just 9 finer. The Collectors Universe price for this issue in MS61 is $7,000.00. Writes David Hall, “The 1894-S and 1895-S $10 Liberties are two issues that are extremely rare in Mint State condition, but are somewhat underrated rarities known only to a handful of specialists. The 1894-S is rarer than the 1895-S, but both issues are true Mint State rarities. For the 1895-S, fewer than two dozen Mint State examples may survive. Auction appearances of Mint State 1895-S $10 Liberties are few and far between.”

The ‘Granite Lady,’ the second San Francisco Mint that survived the tragic Earthquake of 1906 unscathed.

Below is the original listing from Stacks Bowers:

Beautiful golden-honey surfaces are enhanced by tinges of pale pink and apricot. The strike is sharp, the surfaces lustrous, and the appearance is impressively smooth for the assigned grade level. The 1895-S is a low mintage (49,000 pieces) issue that has been all but absent from foreign bank hoards of classic U.S. Mint gold coins. The certified population is limited in all Mint State grades, a paltry number of Gems satisfying much of the advanced date collector pressure and thereby keeping the price of lower end examples such as this MS-61 surprisingly affordable. It is interesting to speculate what would happen to the value of a Mint State 1895-S eagle if this series attracted even half as many date collectors as more popular series such as Buffalo nickels and Morgan silver dollars. An outstanding value for the astute numismatist.

Provenance: From the Fairmont Collection-Hendricks Set.

PCGS Population: 10; 9 finer (MS-66 finest).