1862-S

Ninth-year output from San Francisco shrank to 12,500 pieces in 1862, a notable contraction from the 15,500 struck the year prior and a sign of how thoroughly Civil War economics had reshaped western mint priorities. Gold coin commanded a steep premium over greenbacks, most freshly minted eagles funneled directly into Pacific commerce or transpacific bullion shipments, and the survivors that filtered back into collector hands had typically endured years of hard merchant use. Doug Winter rates the 1862-S as considerably scarcer than its 1861-S sibling despite the comparable original figure, attributing the gap to heavy contemporary melting once federal restrictions lapsed.

This is the final issue to wear the Large S mintmark of the early San Francisco era; the punch was retired after 1862 and would not reappear until 1865, making mintmark style a useful first-line authentication cue alongside the standard 16.718-gram weight, 27 mm diameter, and specific gravity near 17.2 that any genuine 0.900-fine eagle must satisfy. Typical survivors grade VF25 through EF40 with light golden-orange surfaces, flat radial lines inside the obverse stars, and the field abrasions that come with extended pocket and till circulation. EF45 examples are rare, properly graded AU pieces are very rare with perhaps a half dozen accurately certified, and Mint State is essentially uncollectible outside one specimen.

That sole Mint State coin, an NGC MS61, brought $103,500 in Heritage's April 2011 sale and stands as the finest known by a wide margin. For collectors building a Civil War San Francisco set, the 1862-S sits in a desirable middle band: scarcer than 1861-S in absolute terms, more difficult than 1863-S in mid-circulated grades, and offering genuine condition rarity wherever the surfaces escape the heavy abrasion typical of the date. Cross-referencing PCGS and NGC certification data against published auction archives is the practical path before committing serious money. For broader context on the design's six-decade run, see the Liberty Head Eagle series history.