Guess the Grade Type 2 Double Eagle -- Grade Revealed

[Coagman]

I am curious about opinions on this Type 2 Double Eagle. It is in a no problem holder.

 

 

 

[BillJones]

In some ways this coin is a challenge to grade because of the extensive marking and generally low eye appeal which results from that. It would appear that the coin has some mint surface on the reverse and maybe a tiny bit of mint surface between the stars on the obverse. I suppose that would give it a technical grade of EF, but so far as I'm concerned the value would be based on the VF grade. Another negative is that the surfaces appear to have been stripped and look washed out, but that might be the nature of this photo.

 

Extensive bag marking is one of the problems I've had with older double eagles. The coins are large, heavy and soft with makes them very prone to bag marks. Finding pieces with eye appeal for some date and mint combinations is problematic.

 

If you are doing a date and mint set, I'm not the right guy to advise you because I don't know the series that well. If you are looking for a Type II Liberty double eagle for a type set, you can definitely do better than this piece. I have owned a very pretty 1876-S double eagle for a number of years. They are not tough and expensive relative their melt value in Choice AU.

 

As for Mint State that is another matter. Strictly Mint State Type II double eagles are very scarce.

[Coagman]

Great insights, Bill!

 

Any other guesses?

[coinman_23885]

I usually don't collect circulated double eagles, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I would grade it VF30

[Coindude]

Low EF. 40.

[yonico]

I think it made XF. 40 rather than 45.

[BillJones]

Here is an example of how a nice, lightly circulated Type II double eagle can look. This piece is graded AU-58.

 

[FishyOne]

I've seen G$20s such as the one in the OP grade AU50. My guess is that one went XF45.

[Coagman]

Thanks for all of the comments. I suspected that most guesses would be in the VF range, though several guessed higher on the technical grade.

 

I bought the coin raw around seven years ago for a little over melt. The strike is weak, especially the obverse. Most of the stars are flat and there is little hair detail. There aren’t any severe, deep bag marks, but the surfaces are covered by small to moderate hits.

 

I sent it to PCGS thinking it would be returned in an XF40 holder, and was surprised to see it in an AU50 holder. When I sold it a few years ago, I asked XF money for it, since it has low eye appeal for an AU50 coin, though this coin is not alone, as most early type 2 double eagles minted in San Francisco have heavy bag marks and low eye appeal.

 

Bill—Nice type 2 double eagle. From my experience, San Francisco double eagles from the centennial year seem to be the best preserved in the type two category.

 

 

[BillJones]

I passed on many of these coins back where we had only raw coins to buy because of the problems you see on that 1868-S. I bought that 1876-S for about $75 to $100 more than one would have paid for a run of the mill MS-63 or 64 Liberty double eagle in the 1980s.