The 1859 is one of numerous unsung rarities in the long-lived Liberty eagle series of 1838 to 1907. Only 16,013 pieces were produced, with survivors scarce to rare in all grades and typically offered no finer than EF. Only a handful of AU and Mint State coins are known, nine of which are relative newcomers to the numismatic market and attributed to the shipwreck of the S.S. Republic.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the July 2015 Baltimore Auction, where it realized $58,750.