Lot 4131
1925-D $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-65. A brilliant frosty example. Scarce in this high grade. In a year of high production at the Denver Mint, 2,938,500 double eagles were struck in 1925. Apparently, very few of these were distributed into general circulation. However, as had been the case for a number of years, many newly minted 1925-D double eagles were exported to Europe, where they remained stored in banks, primarily in Switzerland and France. At one time, the 1925-D was considered a foremost rarity, much more so than the 1920-S, 1930-S, 1931, and 1932. This was before an unknown quantity was discovered in the 1950s, followed by much larger quantities in Europe in the 1960s. Presently, the '25-D is regarded to be on a par in rarity with the 1924-D, although in finer Mint State grades (MS65 and better), it is slightly rarer, with only a dozen examples certified.
The current offering is a sharply struck Gem with beautiful color and bright, gleaming surfaces that have a layer of sparkling mint frost over both sides. The carefully preserved surfaces show a few of the scattered trivial nicks common to a coin at this grade level, and one slightly more noticeable mark, a lengthy superficial luster graze beneath LI in LIBERTY, tailing down into the left obverse field. Some very wispy pin scratches are also noted, for the sake of accuracy, in the field area just to the left of the lower torch. All in all, however, on the basis of eye appeal and technical merit combined, this piece seems entirely worthy of its lofty rating, which makes it one of the top dozen examples of the year. NGC holder #630947-003. Pop 7; 1 in 66 as best by NGC.
Estimated Value $60,000 - 70,000.
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| Realized $71,875 |
