1852-O $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle NGC AU53
Here’s a rare piece that would be an excellent addition to your collection of gold Liberty Head double eagles. From its mintage of 190,000, Doug Winter reports that there are around 900 to 1,100 surviving examples at this time. NGC has graded 121 specimens as AU53 with 322 finer. Collectors Universe gives this issue a price of $10,000.00 in AU53.
The importance of New Orleans as a center of widespread commerce before the Civil War can be demonstrated via the circulation of New Orleans double eagles. While gold coins of other Southern mints generally circulated regionally, issues from the New Orleans Mint have been located at points far and wide. Two 1852-O double eagles were found in the Baltimore Hoard of 1934, alongside many other New Orleans gold pieces. More than 100 examples of the 1852-O were recovered from the wreckage of the S.S. Republic.
Mule-pulled streetcar by the old New Orleans Mint building (seen at left, from riverwards side). This piece was struck there in 1852. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Also, this date has been found in European holdings up to the present day. The discovery of another New Orleans double eagle, the Bullock specimen of the 1856-O, captured the imagination of numismatists when it was discovered in a safe deposit box in Ohio, signifying that New Orleans coins were employed in the Mississippi-Ohio River traffic. Such O-mint gold coins were apparently an important medium of exchange in a wide variety of locations, making this offering from AUCM an even more fascinating relic of 19th century American history.
PCGS # | 8907 |
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Grading Service | NONE |
Year of Issue | NONE |
Grade | NONE |
Denom Type | N/A |
Numeric Denomination | $20 |
Mint Location | NONE |
Designation | NONE |
Circ/UnCirc | Not Specified |
Strike Type | N/A |
Grade Add On | NONE |
Holder Type | N/A |