1857-S $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle, 20C PCGS MS61 Ex. SS Central America #2

This is a more affordable piece in its assigned grade of MS61. Out of its mintage of 970,500, there have been 120 graded of the "20C Narrow Serif" variety. PCGS has graded 16 in MS61, with 91 finer.

The night of September 11-12, 1857, saw the sinking of the S.S. Central America, when  425 of her 578 passengers and crew perished at sea in a category 2 hurricane with 105 MPH winds. Plus the sinking of 30,000 pounds (14,000 kg) of gold coins on board was a major contributing factor to the economic Panic of 1857. Therefore this 1857-S double eagle is a fascinating piece of numismatic history.

Doug Winter writes of the 1857-S: "This is a well-struck issue. The hair detail on the obverse is sharp with many of the curls and the strands at the top of Liberty’s head showing individual definition. The stars usually have full radial lines and the denticles are sharp and clear. On the reverse, there is usually some minor weakness on the tips of the wings, but the overall detail is excellent with detail not seen on most Type One issues from the San Francisco mint. The coins from the S.S. Central America are generally well-struck and show better overall detail than the coins which are not from this hoard."

A depiction of the sinking of the SS Central America. National Maritime Museum, London.