1857-S $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle, 20A PCGS MS65

Rare 1857-S $20 not from the SS Central America shipwreck!

Here’s a pristine, lustrous example from the early days of the First San Francisco Mint to include in your collection. Please take a careful look at the photos of this beauty provided by AUCM. This is the popular 20A (Spiked Shield) variety of the 1857-S twenty. PCGS has graded 47 of the non-shipwreck 1857-S as MS65 with 24 finer. Collectors Universe prices this issue at $16,000.00 in MS65.

James B. Longacre, who crafted the popular Liberty Head design for the double eagle and other gold coinage. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The obverse of the $20 Double Eagle features a left-facing Liberty. A pearl-encrusted coronet inscribed with “Liberty” adorns her wavy hair, which flows down her neck. Thirteen stars that represent the original colonies/states surround her bust.

The reverse presents Longacre's exaggerated design, featuring a heraldic eagle, one that is quite different from eagles previously found upon our coinage. Dramatic rays emanate from the national bird, and a circle of 13 stars is found hovering over the eagle. Two contrived ribbons encircle the awkward creature, one of which the eagle holds firmly in its beak. The motto E PLURIBUS UNUM is split between the two ribbons. A federal shield is found on its breast and arrows and the ivy branch of peace are found, respectively, in its right and left talons. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and TWENTY D. surround the bird at the coin's rim.