1870

Among Philadelphia Type 2 double eagles, the 1870 sits inside a four-date cluster that specialist dealers consistently rank as the toughest Philly issues of the With Motto era. Mintage of 155,185 places it between the 1869 (175,155) and the 1868 (98,600), with the 1871 (80,150) closing out the group. Specialists such as Douglas Winter routinely order Philly Type 2 scarcity as 1868, 1870, 1871, then 1869, a hierarchy driven less by face mintage than by attrition. Heavy export to European banks during the post–Civil War specie-resumption era pulled most of these coins out of domestic circulation, and what remained was hammered hard before collectors began saving the series in earnest.

Survivorship reflects that history. Specialist estimates put known business strikes in the 400–500 range, with the bulk of certified pieces clustering in EF45 through AU55. Genuine Mint State examples are scarce in absolute terms, with population concentrated at MS60 and MS61; properly graded MS62 coins are a step rarer, and certified examples above MS63 are essentially unknown at this writing. Strike on Philadelphia coinage of the period is generally cleaner than the contemporaneous San Francisco output, but bag-marking is the dominant grade limiter. Reverse hub wear and modest weakness on the eagle's neck feathers turn up frequently and are characteristic rather than disqualifying.

1870 is also the first year the Carson City Mint struck gold, and while the famed 1870-CC double eagle is a separate issue entirely, the geographic shift mattered for Philadelphia output. Western bullion that had previously moved east for coining now had a closer destination, modulating the late-1860s Philly production curve in which this date sits. A small proof issue of 35 pieces was struck for collectors and trades on a wholly different market; business-strike examples carry no major variety landmines, and standard PCGS or NGC encapsulation is sufficient for authentication. For full series context, see the Liberty Head Double Eagle series history.