1855-O

The 1855-O eagle is the fifteenth-year New Orleans issue in the Liberty Head ten-dollar series, struck to a mintage of just 18,000, identical in volume to the 1852-O and well into key-date territory for any No Motto branch-mint ten. Doug Winter ranks it among the top tier of NO No Motto rarities, grouping it with the 1849-O, 1852-O, and 1856-O as the genuinely tough dates that sit just behind the 1841-O and 1859-O at the top of the series. PCGS CoinFacts estimates roughly 75 to 150 examples survive across all grades, and CAC has approved only ten coins of any grade for the date, a single AU50 stands as the finest CAC-stickered piece. The issue is one of nine NO No Motto eagles with zero Uncirculated coins approved at CAC.

Authentic 1855-O eagles weigh 16.718 grams in 90% gold and run a specific gravity near 17.2, with a deeply punched O mintmark on the reverse below the eagle. Strike is average for the New Orleans Type 1 work, central obverse weakness on the curls around Liberty's face is the norm, and the curl below the ear is often very faint, a diagnostic worth checking when authenticating raw coins. Surfaces are the larger problem: this is a date that is nearly non-existent with clean fields, and virtually every survivor shows extensive abrading from contact and circulation. Most known coins grade VF, accurately graded EF examples are very rare, AUs number perhaps a dozen and cluster at AU50–AU53, and just two PCGS-graded Mint State pieces are recorded, both MS61.

For tier-aware collectors, the 1855-O sits in the rung that opens up once the 1841-O and 1859-O have priced out, a date that delivers genuine NO No Motto scarcity, but where original, problem-free surfaces command a meaningful premium over the price guides. NGC-graded AU55 examples have traded in the mid-five-figure range when they appear, while VF and EF coins with honest wear remain the realistic entry point at lower five figures. The condition curve is steep: any coin with even modestly original surfaces deserves close attention. For the broader context on Type 1 branch-mint production and the New Orleans No Motto run, see the Liberty Head Eagle series history.