1858-S $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle PCGS MS61

In 1858, an abundant mintage of 846,710 Liberty double eagles was produced at the San Francisco Mint. Like many Type One twenties, the 1858-S saw much circulation at the time of its issue and the majority of specimens seen are in the lower circulated grades. Unlike earlier S-mint twenties, the 1858-S was minted too late to be preserved among the sunken treasure of the S.S. Central America. Since few examples were saved for numismatic purposes, the 1858-S is rare in MS61 condition, and finer coins are not easy to come by. PCGS has graded 22 as MS61 with only 7 finer, the finest two examples carry the grade of MS63. Collectors Universe gives this issue a price of $11,000 in MS61.

Gold specialist Doug Winter writes: "The 1858-S shows an above-average quality strike in comparison to other San Francisco double eagles of this era....The luster is frosty in texture with a pronounced granularity. Some are more satiny in appearance and these are regarded as being more desirable by specialists in the series....The natural coloration is an attractive rich rose-gold or orange-gold hue. There are still a decent number of 1858-S double eagles with natural color that the patient collector should be able to acquire one without a great effort."