The typical 1892-S is one of the harder San Francisco double eagles from this decade to locate, although it is certainly not a “scarce” coin. A small quantity of these were in the Saddle Ridge Hoard.

Expert’s Corner: 1892-S Double Eagle

As I worked on updating this book, I looked through population figures from both PCGS and NGC. I was surprised to see how solid a rarity factor 1892-S double eagles had in MS63.

The quality of strike for this date varies. There are some which show a very sharp strike, and these examples have complete definition on the hair of Liberty and well defined feathers on the eagle. Others show weakness on the portrait and weakness on the tips of the wings. The radial lines in the stars are sometimes weak, as well. The surfaces are generally heavily marked with deep abrasions in the fields. There are some which are very clean, with much nicer surfaces than usual, and these are always in demand. The luster is typically very frosty. A few are semi-proof-like, but these tend to have poor eye appeal as a result of heavy marks in the fields. The coloration on uncleaned, original 1892-S double eagles is most often a rich rose-gold hue, with some specimens showing a more orange-gold color. The level of eye appeal is slightly below average in comparison to other San Francisco double eagles from this era.