One of the rarest Double Eagle gold coins is the 1856-O Liberty Head $20 gold double eagle. This gold coin contains 90 percent gold and 10 percent copper. The design was created by James Barton Longacre. It had a weight of 33.40 grams and with the “O” mint mark, it was produced at the New Orleans Mint.
This is one of the rarest gold coins, the U.S. Mint only produced 2,250 gold double eagles in 1856 at the New Orleans mint. This is a very rare American gold coin. In fact, any twenty-dollar gold double eagle with a low mintage like this is going to be worth a lot of money. While that’s true, this coin is unique. The majority of $20 gold coins minted at the New Orleans Mint lack crisp details. The low-quality of these coins were a result of a low striking pressure. However, this coin has beautiful details and a reflective surface in the fields.
If you’re looking to buy gold coins like this, it would cost you a lot of pennies. This double eagle gold coin sold for $1,437,500. It sold back in May 2009 and was graded by PCGS, that grade was a PCGS SP-63.
When it was first discovered, many numismatists consider this to be a proof coin. It did not great a PR grade, but some proof coins were produced during this same time period at the New Orleans mint. This gold coin was special though, the details suggests they took care of it and special processes may have been made for this coin, that’s why it has amazing details.
It is possible that mint workers did produce a proof coin and failed to record any documentation that it was produced. This practice of striking special coins for coin collectors was quite prominent during this time period. This rare gold double eagle now has a “Specimen Strike” and has the SP designation in the grade.
We’re always looking to buy rare gold coins, if you have gold coins to sell, be sure to reach out to us.
Photo credit: Heritage Auctions – HA.com
