LOT Heritage Rare Coin Galleries  /  2006 October Dallas Signature Coin Auction #428  / 

3640

1925-S $20 MS63 PCGS. The 1925-S double eagle demonstr

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1925-S $20 MS63 PCGS. The 1925-S double eagle demonstr
<B>1925-S<$20> MS63 PCGS.</B></I> The 1925-S double eagle demonstrates amply why the original mintages in this widely collected series have nothing to do with their ultimate rarity. Despite an original mintage approaching 4 million pieces, the issue is elusive in MS63 or finer grades. In his <I>Guide Book of Double Eagle Gold Coins,</B></I> Q. David Bowers comments, "The 1925-S is a sleeper. The large mintage belies the rarity of this coin. The population of 1925-S double eagles is about evenly divided between high grade worn pieces and lower level Mint State examples, although some notable gems exist, some of which appeared on the market in the late 1980s."<BR> One of the many wonderful attributes of the new Garrett-Guth gold <I>Encyclopedia</B></I> (this is not a commercial, but every serious gold collector/investor owes it to him/herself to acquire a copy) is the auction analysis from 1991 through 2005 for every gold issue. During that time, according to the authors, 126 pieces of the 1925-S changed hands, with an average grade of 57.8. The population summary shows 513 pieces graded (between NGC, PCGS, and ANACS), with an average grade of 59.8.<BR> The current example, graded MS63 by PCGS, shows a population of 59 pieces, with 16 finer, while NGC shows 25 MS63 examples, with 13 coins graded finer (9/06). This specimen offers fine-grained, mattelike surfaces that are delectably colored in intense hues of orange-gold. Excellent luster radiates from each side, and this coin shows little of the strike weakness that sometime afflicts this issue near the lower obverse border. The strike is a bit blunt on Liberty's head, however, and a few light abrasions on her right (facing) leg and well hidden in other places confirm the grade. Two fine, light die cracks are seen on the reverse, both running through the eagle's head. This is an extremely appealing coin, one that would cost a great deal more at the next Uncirculated level.
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