Posted Today 1H 19M ago
The double eagles are beautiful coins. They also represented a tremendous amount of wealth in those days. Twenty dollars in 1856 is equal to $788 in buying power today. To answer your question, I can't recall seeing any truly prooflike double eagles from the Civil War era or earlier, but others may be able to give a better answer. I know prooflike double eagles exist from the 1870s and later.
Your coin shows both bag marks and circulation contacts. Light circulation doesn't prevent a coin from grading UNC. On the obverse, the rim dings at 9 o'clock, the ding over the eye, marks in the field near the sixth star, and in the hair above the curls are bag marks. The scratches on the cheek, in the high points of the hair behind the ear, to the right pf the date, and the east-west scratches in the hair curl, and between the 8th and 9th stars look more like the coin being scraped across a counter in commerce. On the reverse, the mark SW from the mint mark and several of the field contacts look like bag marks, but the small scratches on the rim around 4 o'clock and the more obvious scratches above the denomination and NW of the mint mark look more like circulation contacts. There is some surface discoloration in the fields, as well. That said, I don't see evidence of actual wear from circulation.
I've seen TPGs grade similar coins as AU-58, which I don't think is correct. IMHO, this is an UNC coin, because of the lack of evident wear from circulation. The gold coins should get a little bit of grace because of the softness of the metal. To my eyes, there are a few too many contact marks to go above MS-62. For the grade, this coin has a solid strike and nice eye appeal. Nice coin!
Your coin shows both bag marks and circulation contacts. Light circulation doesn't prevent a coin from grading UNC. On the obverse, the rim dings at 9 o'clock, the ding over the eye, marks in the field near the sixth star, and in the hair above the curls are bag marks. The scratches on the cheek, in the high points of the hair behind the ear, to the right pf the date, and the east-west scratches in the hair curl, and between the 8th and 9th stars look more like the coin being scraped across a counter in commerce. On the reverse, the mark SW from the mint mark and several of the field contacts look like bag marks, but the small scratches on the rim around 4 o'clock and the more obvious scratches above the denomination and NW of the mint mark look more like circulation contacts. There is some surface discoloration in the fields, as well. That said, I don't see evidence of actual wear from circulation.
I've seen TPGs grade similar coins as AU-58, which I don't think is correct. IMHO, this is an UNC coin, because of the lack of evident wear from circulation. The gold coins should get a little bit of grace because of the softness of the metal. To my eyes, there are a few too many contact marks to go above MS-62. For the grade, this coin has a solid strike and nice eye appeal. Nice coin!
