The 1901-S double eagle is more difficult to locate than its mintage of nearly 1.6 million suggests. In higher grades, it is one of the hardest 20th century issues of this design to locate.

Expert’s Corner: 1901-S Double Eagle

When the last edition of this book was published, the 1901-S double eagle was almost never seen above MS63. There have been enough graded in MS64 in the last few years to make this grade recommended for most collectors and investors, yet it remains very rare in MS65.

This is an issue often seen with some weakness of strike. On the obverse, the stars may show weakness on the radial lines and, less often, on some of the denticles. The reverse can show weakness on the feathers but is generally more sharply struck than the obverse. The surfaces are typically heavily abraded, and some coins show mint-made dark spots in the planchet. The luster is typical of a San Francisco double eagle of this era with a rich, frosty texture. On original pieces, the coloration ranges from rose and green-gold to a deeper orange-gold hue. The level of eye appeal tends to be below average due to dense clusters of marks in the fields.