A very brief history of my 1898 Double Eagle, by far, my favorite coin series...(in gold)

Greetings Collectors,

It is amazing how "bored" one can be on Friday night in the little town of White Springs Fl. with a total population of about the same amount as this 1898-P "twenty". (less than 2500).

When I get home I am going to crop and edit my entire gold coin collection, starting with my #11 Type Three Double Eagles. Over 70% of them were purchased when gold was around a shade north of $500. Most were purchased in MS 62 grades for around $650-$750 each. The one pictured here was the last one I purchased in Sept.of this year and had to pay way more than those "above" prices.

The 1898 "Philly" issue was a very low mintage coin and one that I have been searching for quite some time to locate. Its mintage is the lowest from this mint since 1891. According to my favorite reference book, "A Numismatic History & Analysis of Type Three Double Eagles" ( I call this my "type three $20 Bible") There are 2100-2500 total known in all grades, slabbed and raw. In addition, the mint figures state that 170,395 business strikes along with 75 proofs account for the total mintage. The breakdown of the condition of total known are as follows:

Circulated- 300-400

MS-60/61- 900-1100

MS-62/63 900-1100

MS-64 & up- 26-35

Many authorities on the t-3 twentys agree that this coin is an undervalued "sleeper" which is actually much scarcer than the more-heralded 1905. (I tend to disagree on that particular bit of info simply 'cause there are only a shade more than one thousand coins known in "captivity" for the 1905-P duhhh...) It is also stated that this coin is one of the more difficult dates to locate with a "full strike". They go on to say that many show weakness on the obverse stars and not completely defined on the hair of Liberty. The reverse is typically sharper and will often appear at least one-grade better than the obverse. This is a much "scarcer" date than any other Double Eagle produced from 1894 to the early part of the 20th century. It is rare in MS-63 and extremely rare in MS-64 or better. Out of the 75 proofs struck, it is believed that 30 or so exist, making this one of the two most available pre-1900 Proof Double Eagles. Many of the surviving proofs are very choice and some superb quality pieces are known as well.

My 1898 is a most remarkable coin in that it is graded MS-61 but is "grossly" undergraded. In relation to the 1905 $20 I posted about just recently, it (the 1905) is equal in quality & the 1898 is superior in quality to an MS-63 "old holder" NGC graded 1904 which I have. I have been told by several experts this 1904 is a "63.75" if not a "64" and the 1898 pictured here is every bit as sharp and detailed as that MS-63 1904 coin on the obverse ("heads") and even sharper on the reverse ("tails") I am thrilled at the possibility of re-submitting both this coin and the "Anacs" AU-58 1905 and getting both back as "solid MS-63's". I know what some of you are thinking, and that is "why did someone else not see these two "snafu's" and snatch them up and have them regraded? This I don't know, but I will tell you this, and that I know this series well and have looked at both this 1898 and that aforementioned 1905 literly dozens of times each, under 20X glass and compared every minute detail and that coupled with expert opinions about my 1904 "63", there is ZERO doubt in my mind that I have a solid 62.5 on the 1905 and a solid 63.5+ on this 1898. (If not for the couple of small scratches on "Liberty's face, this coin (the 1898) with the "near perfect" reverse may reach an MS grade of 64). Both coins appear to have never been loaded into the canvas sacks that most Double Eagles and Morgan Dollars were stored in for shipment out to the various banks. This type of handling/storage was "hell" on the shiney soft fields of all gold coins, even more so on the larger "tens & twentys". Because there are near zero "bagmarks/scratches" on the fields or devices on either coins, I am convinced these were handled in a different fasion, either pulled out early or put in rolls from the "git-go". Both are close to being solid "middle mint state". I am not sure how good this pic will turn out here on this post but I intend on taking a few more shots of both of these coins so that I can share their quality with you all. I would like your opinions as to what you think these two coins would grade at, after I post new pictures in the coming weeks.

There are four low-mintage Philly mint "twentys" I own and all but one will be "cracked out" (The AU 58 1902 is a 58+ but not even in the same ballpark as the 1905 & 1898 and will remain in its NGC-58 holder) I have a 1906 "old green holder" PCGS-60 that will also be "cracked out" but I am convinced, while it is a "super sweet" coin, a 62.5, it will more than likely come back no better than "62".

As I have mentioned several times before, in previous posts, there are some really nice coins "out there" and every now and then you will run across one thats way off "grade wise". Your "downside" risk is usually minimal, while the "upside" could be tremendous. If and when you find one, grab it, crack it out carefully, send it in and see what happens. You may be very glad you did. As I share some "closer view" pictures of these three "Philly Twentys", those of you in the know will I'm sure, agree. Well it's after 1:00 AM so I'm going to bed. Hope all is well with you and yours. I would like to continue to "have fun with my coins" by dreaming about them. Happy Collecting! WKF

P.S. I sure wish "Lady Liberty's" old man had not punched her in the mouth and "cut" her upper lip. I would love to get my hands on and about him as he may have cost me many thousands of $.

P.S.S. The $ would be secondary...