1889-CC $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle PCGS XF45 (CAC)

Buy this coin and save $1,000 off the Collector’s Universe price!

Purchase this 1889-CC $20 double eagle, and you will own a classic relic of the Old West. Close your eyes for a minute and let yourself drift back in time. Saloon doors swing open and the smell of whiskey hangs in the air. Gambling tables are stacked with silver dollars and gold coins. Was this coin being offered by AU Capital Management in the pocket of a well-heeled gambler? Perhaps. This issue had a low mintage of 30,945.

PCGS has graded 143 as XF45 with 661 finer. Collector’s Universe prices this issue at $6,750.00 in XF45. In CAC, there are 24 in XF45 with 114 finer. CAC gives this issue a price of $7,000.00 in XF45.

The Carson City Mint, where this great coin was struck in 1889. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The Double Eagles that were produced at 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 boundless amount of gold that had been recently been extracted from the mines of Nevada. During the different gold rushes, and for many years afterwards, paper money was contemptuously derided in the West.

That attitude made gold coins important in day-to-day business transactions, and they became the accepted method of payment in the Old West. That is why so many Carson City double eagles are found in relatively low grades today in the 21st century. 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 Wild West, the Comstock Lode, and the Carson City Mint.