1858 Mint Set with Gold

The 1858 Mint Set is typical of the period in that the keys lie in the San Francisco Silver issues. Demand for silver coinage was high, and virtually 100% of the issue went immediately into circulation. Until A.G. Heaton's 1893 treatise on collecting coins by mintmark, numismatists generally only collected by date. So it's not surprising that PCGS has graded only one Mint State piece to date. No Silver Dollars were struck for circulation this year, so the keys to the set include the 1858-S Dime and Quarter. Additionally, the 58-O Quarter can be tough in high grade as well. The gold for 1858 includes sixteen issues from five mints nearly all of which are tough. In particular the 1858-S Half Eagle and Eagle, and the 1858-O Double Eagle and the 1858-P Eagle will be difficult to find. If you're looking for Mint State specimens, good luck. More than one of these issues is unknown in Mint State, while many of the others have only a handful of specimen's known. Only the Gold Dollars and the Philadelphia Quarter Eagle can be readily found in MS grades.