1857-O $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle NGC XF45 (CAC)

The first thing that stands out about this piece is its original rich greenish-golden coloration. Writes Doug Winter, “The natural color is medium to deep green-gold. Many are now unnaturally bright from having been cleaned or dipped. Pieces with attractive natural color do exist and these tend to bring a strong premium.” This piece offered from AUCM has that “attractive natural color” Winters describes.

A rare and elusive issue from the famed New Orleans Mint, this coin is perfect for the specialist in Liberty head double eagle rarities. Winter continues, “After three consecutive years of tiny mintage figures, production of double eagles at the New Orleans mint increased in 1857. While only 30,000 were struck, this was more than twice as many as had been made from 1854 through 1856. This shouldn’t give the impression that this is anything but a scarce issue as it is, in fact, very difficult to locate and it is comparable in overall rarity to the 1858-0.” NGC has graded 24 as XF45 with 116 finer. In CAC, there are 4 in XF45 with 19 finer. CAC prices this rarity at $16,200 in XF45.

The New Orleans Mint, where this rarity was struck in 1857. Photo: treasury.gov.