1861-S $20 Liberty Double Eagle, Paquet Reverse NGC XF45+

The year 1860 saw Anthony C. Paquet, the US Mint assistant engraver, craft a new reverse for the double eagle. It featured tall lettering and a very narrow rim. In early 1861, it was determined that such a design would not wear well in circulation, due to the narrow border. There was a telegraph sent to the San Francisco Mint that ordered using the previous Longacre-engraved reverse. However, the telegraph seems to have taken a great deal of time to reach the mint. For by the time it arrived, 19,250 of the Paquet reverse coins had been produced and placed into circulation in the West. That represented an amount of $385,000 in gold coinage.

NGC has graded one coin as XF45+ with 52 finer. Collectors Universe gives this issue a price of $110,000.00 in XF45+.

Important information about the 1861-S $20 Paquet Reverse!

• The 1861-S $20 Paquet is listed in the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins encyclopedia. It is ranked as number 99.
• The 1861-S $20 Paquet is THE most rare double eagle from the San Francisco Mint.
• In the entire Type 1 double eagle series, the 1861-S $20 Paquet is only eclipsed in rarity by the 1854-O ($450K+) and the 1856-O ($425K+) and of course, the 1861 Philadelphia mint Paquet reverse (2 known - $3.5million+).
• This issue was struck between Thursday, January 10 and Tuesday, February 5, 1861. According to SF Mint records, $385,000 in face value was struck, which equals 19,250 coins. This issue was struck for only 19 business days before the recall - the equivalent of approximately 1,000 coins each day!
• A single example, eventually certified as AU58, was found in the S.S. Republic shipwreck.
• Mint records show the entire mintage was released into circulation. Only 90-100 coins are traced.
• The 1861-S $20 Paquet is NOT known to exist in Mint State.

According to noted gold coin expert David Akers: “The 1861-S Paquet is the rarest Liberty Head Double Eagle from the San Francisco Mint. Its only real close competitor for that distinction is the 1866-S No Motto but, in my opinion, there are more of the latter in existence than there are 1861-S Paquets. In high grade, the 1861-S Paquet is extremely rare and, to the best of my knowledge, it is unknown in full mint state. I have seen only two specimens I graded as high as AU-50 and nothing even close to Unc. … In my experience the majority of 1861-S Paquets are well worn, VF being typical, and they are almost always very heavily braided.”