1906-S $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle PCGS AU55

We at AUCM are pleased to offer a relic of the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906: a 1906-S $20 gold piece graded AU55 by PCGS. This coin was struck during the last year of the very popular Liberty head double eagle series (1850-1906), and thus would be a great type coin of bygone times. The next year, 1907, saw the beginning of the Saint-Gaudens double eagle series (1907-1933).

The obverse of the $20 Double Eagle features a left-facing Liberty design influenced by Greco-Roman sculpture. A pearl-encrusted coronet inscribed with “Liberty” adorns her wavy hair, which flows down her neck. Thirteen stars that represent the original colonies/states surround her bust. The date is found below the image of Liberty. The reverse presents Longacre's exaggerated design, featuring a heraldic eagle, one that is quite different from eagles previously found upon our coinage. Dramatic rays emanate from the national bird, and a circle of 13 stars is found hovering over the eagle. Within those stars is found, IN GOD WE TRUST. Two contrived ribbons encircle the awkward creature, one of which the eagle holds firmly in its beak. The motto E PLURIBUS UNUM is split between the two ribbons. A federal shield is found on its breast and arrows and the ivy branch of peace are found, respectively, in its right and left talons. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and TWENTY D. surround the bird at the coin's rim.