Business Strike:

The 1891 is a significant rarity among the Type 3 double eagles, rivaling some of the legendary dates of the 1880s. During this era, the resources of the US Mint were evidently focused on production of the new Morgan silver dollar, pursuant to the Bland-Allison Act of 1878. As such, production of double eagles dwindles, and what little was produced was often send to Europe and much of it eventually melted. Only 1,390 coins were struck for 1891 and fewer than 10% survive for collectors today. The vast majority of these are in circulated grades of AU-55 and lower, many with surface impairments.

Proof Strike:

The Philadelphia Mint produced a mere 52 Proof double eagles in 1891 using a single pair of dies that have recently become known as JD-1 (United States Proof Coins, Volume IV: Gold, by John W. Dannreuther, 2018). As with all issues in the Proof Liberty Head double eagle series, the 1891 is a major numismatic rarity at all levels of preservation. Dannreuther estimates that only 18 to 22 coins are extant, which estimate is actually a bit higher than those of contemporary Proof double eagle issues with similar mintages. The reason for this, in Dannreuther's words:"The 1,390 mintage of the circulation strikes [from the Philadelphia Mint that year] makes date pressure the primary reason that more 1891 Proofs have survived than for 1890 that had an almost identical production. This is a common theme for all United States issues with low circulation strike outputs. Collectors would not spend a Proof issue if they knew that other collectors would pay a premium for their coins or they could not easily replace their Proof with a commercial strike."Now as then, the low mintage and key date status of the circulation strike 1891 double eagle keeps demand for the surviving Proofs high among advanced gold enthusiasts. Of course, the Proof 1891 is an impressive rarity in its own right with examples seldom appearing on the open market.