1863-S $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle PCGS XF45 Ex.SS Brother Jonathan

Dramatic example of Civil War era gold!

Here's an exciting coin from the Civil War to include in your numismatic collection. PCGS has graded 142 as XF45, with 480 finer. Writes gold specialist Doug Winter, "I’d rank Civil War gold as one of the more popular ultra-specialties in American numismatics."

When and how did Civil War gold become popular? Winter tells us:

I had a brainstorm one afternoon. 2011 marked the sesquicentennial of the beginning of the Civil War, and what would be more natural than to promote Civil War gold? I began to quietly accumulate coins and simultaneously began to feature articles and blogs on my website touting them....I remember selling virtually all the coins I had very early on in my promotion and not being able to find many more for Round Two and Round Three. Other dealers had the same idea I did, and suddenly Civil War gold became popular.

Sailing card for the Brother Jonathan. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.