1863-S LIBERTY HEAD $10 AU53

WELL STRUCK WITH LUSTER STILL APPARENT. ONLY 40 TO 60 COINS BELIEVED TO EXIST TODAY IN ALL GRADES. Unlike those in the Philadelphia Mint, San Francisco Mint operations were not affected by the Civil War. An original mintage of 10,000 pieces for the 1863-S Eagle, while limited, likely reflects the actual demand for this denomination on the West Coast during that year. This issue circulated heavily, and few coins have survived even in VF and EF grades. AUs are extremely rare, and an extant population of only one or two Mint State examples has remained the same despite the discovery of a few coins on board the wreck of the S.S. Republic .