Owner Comments:
The 1842-O issue is less rare than the ulta-rare 1841, but it is not common, as there are an estimated only 20 to 25 known in AU50 and better (compare this to the 1841-O whose similar number is 6 -7). The grading services census numbers seem to be very inflated by resubmissions (for AU58 PCGS 7/2, NGC 20/4). If there were so many, how come Heritage has only 5 since 1999 and none since 2006?
The present coin is from the Ambleside collection, and is very nice for the grade. While properly graded, we note that it is in an older NGC holder. The coin's luster is somewhat prooflike, which is rare but not unheardof. Coloration is green gold with some orange-gold between the stars where the prooflike luster remains.
Note that the date logotype on this issue is larger than the 1841-O. It remains this size for a number of years, through 1846. It increases again in size in 1847, the largest mintage year of the New Orleans No Motto Eagle, by a wide margin (over half million! versus 27,400 for this issue).