1879-CC $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle PCGS XF45 (CAC)

The coinage of 1879 Double eagles at Carson City totaled 10,708 pieces. That has resulted in high demand for an elusive date. Rusty Goe, in his The Confident Carson City Coin Collector, writes that the general survival rate of the 1879-CC is fairly strong within the context of CC-mint double eagles. Nonetheless, that "higher than normal" survival rate still amounts to a mere 2.5 to 3% of the mintage. That represents less than 375 coins in all grades. Goe adds, "By examining each of the grade divisions and striving to sort out the surviving population estimates, it is undeniable that this is indeed one of the scarcer dates in the Carson City double eagle series."

PCGS has graded 98 as XF45 with 143 finer. Collectors Universe prices this issue at $22,500.00 in XF45. In CAC, there are 18 in XF45 with 25 finer. CAC gives this issue a price of $20,900.00 in XF45.

James B. Longacre, who crafted the design of the Liberty Head double eagle. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.