1857-S $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle, 20E PCGS MS62 (CAC) Ex.SS Central America

An absolute beauty. A classic work of American numismatic art. That’s a good description of this offering from AU Capital Management. This is the 20E (Broken A) variety of the popular 1857-S twenty. PCGS has graded 62 of this variety as MS62 with 102 finer. In CAC, there are 4 in MS62 with 13 finer. CAC gives this variety a price of $9,500.00.

James B. Longacre, who designed and engraved the beautiful Liberty Head double eagle. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Gold specialist 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 ... 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."