1897-S $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle PCGS MS-63

1897-S Liberty Head Double Eagle, PCGS MS-63 Type III — San Francisco Mint, Klondike Era

The 1897-S Double Eagle was struck at the height of the Klondike fever, as news of the Yukon gold discovery electrified the nation and renewed confidence in hard money after years of silver agitation and monetary uncertainty. The San Francisco Mint, ideally positioned as the Pacific gateway for western bullion flows, struck some 1.47 million pieces that year — slightly more than its Philadelphia counterpart and reflective of the Bay City facility's dominant role in late nineteenth-century gold coinage. Survivors in Select Uncirculated grade display the bold, frosty luster characteristic of the San Francisco Type III series, with contact marks consistent with the grade distributed across otherwise clean fields. By far our favorite out of this overseas purchase! This "Choice" mint state "gem" is gorgeous!

PCGS Population (May 2026): 3,153 in MS-63, with 1,211 finer — a notably higher finer population relative to its Philadelphia counterpart, consistent with the 1897-S's reputation as one of the more available San Francisco Type III issues above the MS-63 threshold, though Gem survivors remain genuinely scarce.

By comparison, the common-date 1904 in the same grade has a population of 79,522 in MS63 grade with 55,490 finer and is nearly the same price!