Louisiana Purchase
$10 1850-O

Owner Comments:

A rare no motto eagle, this date is grouped with the 1842-O eagle in rarity, and is 9th of 21 in high grade rarity.

This AU58 is very lustrous and choice for the grade. The weakness of strike is typical of this date. Only two or three Uncirculated pieces are known and this is among the best AU's we have seen, making it clearly within the condition census. (PCGC 3/1 (MS65) NGC 13/3, all 3 NCG's are MS60). The MS65 has sold for $100K.

The coin was purchased from the Pinnacle Collection, and is the plate coin in Winter's book on New Orleans Rare Gold Coins.

The year that this coin was minted is one of the most interesting in US history: the country was on the verge of breaking apart when all of a sudden the US President died in office and Millard Fillmore was elevated to President. He quickly brokered the Compromise of 1850 that gave the country three or so years of relative peace before the issues of slavery in the western states became an issue again. What would have happened to our country if just one little thing had gone different that year? Would we be one country today. Certainly, the period leading up to the Civil War (years of the no motto series) is a fascinating period on our country's time.