Owner Comments:
The 1844-O Eagle is one of the three New Orleans eagles with a mintage over 100,000. As such, it is one of the more common New Orleans eagles. However, it is extremely rare in Mint State, with an estimated 5 - 7 known. And after all, it would not be right to call any New Orleans eagle common.
This condition census example is completely original. The coin has very nice, frosty luster on both sides that suggest a higher grade. Coloration is a nice orange-gold. There are no distracting marks, although a small planchet flaw exists in the field below the "TE" in STATES on the reverse.
The date on this issue is interesting in that the second "4" is different than the first: cruder and a little fatter in the stem. The strike is excellent throughout, except for slight weakness in the curl over the ear. The neck feather are well struck. The piece shows the typical (for this issue) raised die lines on the obverse between the stars 2 and 4. It is Winter variety #1, which is the more common variety.
This coin is probably #5 in Winter's census listing in his book, as it was sourced from Heritage around this time (lucky for me).