Owner Comments:
This coin has relaively few marks overall and only trifling rub and a shallow flaw close to the arrowheads. The strike is nearly full with only minor weakness on some of the peripheral stars and on the curl over the ear. This is common for this issue. NGC and PCGS grade 64 coins as AU58, but there are only 9 graded finer (as of 1/8/11). This coin is illustrated in "PCGS CoinFacts Top Ten" where it ranked as tied for seventh place among the PCGS graded coins.
There are at least three mintmark positions found on the 1856-s eagle. One is high and to the left, placed under the eagle's talon. A second is to the right and low, almost centered. A third is well to the right, under the lower arrow's feather. Examination of the last 50 sales of this coin at Heritage Auction Galleries, shows there were 16 of the first type, 18 of the second and 16 of the third. Thus, they seem to be about equally common.