1901

The 1901 eagle stands as the second-largest Philadelphia delivery of the entire With Motto era, with a mintage of 1,718,740 pieces struck during a year when Theodore Roosevelt unexpectedly assumed the presidency following the McKinley assassination. The combination of heavy production and substantial bank-vault retention through the early twentieth century left this issue better preserved in Mint State than in worn condition, a reversal of the usual circulation-attrition pattern that defines most pre-1880 dates in the series.

For collectors, the 1901 functions as a textbook type coin. Survivors are abundant from MS60 through MS64, where original luster, wheat-gold color, and clean fields are the norm rather than the exception. The grading curve tightens noticeably at MS65, and gem examples with vibrant frost and minimal contact carry meaningful premiums; certified MS66 pieces are scarce enough that recent retail offerings have settled near the $4,800 mark, while MS67 examples are conditionally rare and rarely change hands. Authentication is straightforward given the issue's commonness, focus on weight tolerance against the 16.718-gram standard and screen for the soft, hairlined surfaces typical of cleaned coins masquerading as choice originals. Cherrypicking strike sharpness on the eagle's neck feathers and shield rivets separates ordinary from premium examples within the same grade.

Within a date set or year set of With Motto eagles, the 1901-P offers the highest-grade ceiling per dollar of any common Philadelphia issue from the decade, making it the standard recommendation for collectors who want a single gem representative of the type. Series specialists typically pair it with the 1901-S, together the two issues account for the bulk of surviving high-grade With Motto eagles, before pursuing the genuinely difficult dates from the 1870s and early 1880s. Background on the design's two-decade span and the broader run of Philadelphia, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Carson City production is available in the Liberty Head Eagle series history.