1872-CC $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle PCGS XF45 (CAC)

Here’s a rare Carson City twenty to add to your collection. PCGS has graded 95 as XF45 with 165 finer. Collectors Universe prices this issue at $18,500.00 in XF45. In CAC, there are 16 in XF45 with 35 finer. CAC gives this issue a price of $15,800.00 in XF45.

Writes David Akers, “Compared to the other Double Eagles from the Carson City Mint, the 1872-CC [ranks] 8th out of the 19 issues in terms of overall rarity. However, in terms of condition rarity, it ranks behind only the 1870-CC and 1871-CC and in the top 10% of the entire Double Eagle series. Nearly all 1872-CC twenties grade only VF of EF and it is very difficult to locate a strictly graded AU.”

Miners working at a mine in the Comstock Lode. Gold from there was used to produce this coin. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The Double Eagles that emanated from the Carson City Mint served two basic functions: a circulating instrument of commerce and a storehouse of value. The big $20 gold coins were the easiest way to mint, transport and trade the great amount of gold that had been recently been extracted from the mines of Nevada. During the different gold rushes in the West, and for many years afterwards, paper money was contemptuously derided.

That attitude made gold coins important in day-to-day business transactions, and they became the accepted method of payment in the Old West. More than most other Liberty head $20 gold pieces, those from the Carson City Mint remain popular and have grown in value over the years. Among the reasons for this is the romance associated with the Old West, the Comstock Lode, and the Carson City Mint.