Featured Specials

1795 $1 Flowing Hair, Two Leaves, Silver Plug, B-1, BB-21, R.2, AU55 NGC. The B-1, BB-21 variety is one of several 1795 Flowing Hair die pairs known on rare occasions to have a silver plug inserted to adjust the planchet weight. This Two Leaves die pair is most easily distinguished by the 7 in the date punched over a 1. The partial outline of a large, circular plug is mostly hidden in Liberty's hair strands, but it is clearly outlined when the obverse is viewed under magnification. Enlarged images reveal the curve of the Mint-inserted plug, although the coin's bold strike conceals the plug on the reverse. At times, the silver plug is present but it is not all that apparent. Sometimes a plug is a different color than the host planchet, suggesting that they were struck from a different batch of silver -- with slightly different composition -- allowing the plug to tone differently than the host coin.

The New Orleans Mint gold deposit books (preserved at the Fort Worth, Texas branch of the National Archives) record 24 deposits of gold dated January 2 through January 28. Major depositors were Citizen's Bank (seven deposits, 6,661 ounces), Bank of Louisiana (three deposits, 3,588 ounces), and Cramer & Co. (three deposits, 3,402 ounces). During that period, 11 other depositor from eight individuals accounted for 261 ounces of gold. Among items from those depositors were 29,000 sovereigns, South American and Mexican "doubloons," jewelry, and mixed bullion. Deposits totaled 13,912 ounces of gold. The total mintage of 1861-O double eagles is recorded as 17,741 pieces, struck under three authorities, the Union, the State of Louisiana, and the Confederacy. That production indicates that additional unrecorded gold deposits occurred after January 28. In Gold Coins of the New Orleans Mint: 1839-1909, research suggests that 5,000 were struck by the United States government through January 26, 9,750 were struck by the State of Louisiana from January 26 to March 31, and 2,991 were struck by the Confederate government in April 1861. The 1861-O double eagle is known with a full date, or with a weak date having the lower parts of each digit nearly or entirely absent. The dies and die states of the 1861-O twenties require continued study. This AU53 example has an above average strike with hints of honey-gold color on its somewhat reflective surfaces, showing strong luster. The surfaces have a few trivial marks, although this piece lacks the deep marks that historically are typical.