1853/2 $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle NGC AU-55

Despite increasing popularity among specialists, the 1853/'2' remains an underrated variety and ranks as the rarest *Guide Book*-listed Type I (No Motto) Liberty Head double eagle from the Philadelphia Mint when treated as distinct from the normal-date 1853.

It is the only overdate recognized in the entire Liberty Head double eagle series (1850–1907). Discovered in the late 1950s—Walter Breen claimed a January 1959 find—and popularized in the 1980s, it is listed in the *Red Book* and the *Cherrypickers’ Guide* as FS-301 (sometimes styled 1853/2 or 1853/'2').

Its status has long been debated. Specialists including Doug Winter and Adam Crum accept it as a genuine overdate, while others such as Q. David Bowers and David Akers have questioned whether the artifact in the lower loop of the 3 is truly a remnant of a 2 or merely a die break, recut, or die damage. All genuine examples come from a single known obverse die and share diagnostic markers, notably a small raised die lump/chip (or “die dot”) below the right foot of the R in LIBERTY; later die states may also show a repaired crossbar on the A in STATES on the reverse.

The total mintage of Philadelphia 1853 double eagles was 1,261,326 (the variety is included in that figure). An estimated 200–300+ examples of the 1853/'2' survive. Most grade VF to XF; About Uncirculated pieces are scarce, and Mint State coins are rare, with the finest known typically MS61–MS62 (a PCGS MS62 from the Fairmont Collection realized $93,000). Surfaces on survivors are often moderately to heavily abraded.

A modest number of higher-grade pieces were recovered from the wrecks of the *S.S. Republic* and *S.S. Central America* (roughly 100 pieces total from both treasures according to some accounts, including a few moderately high-grade examples from the Central America). Even so, the 1853/'2' remains particularly elusive in solid AU and Mint State.[](<https://coins.ha.com/itm/liberty-double-eagles/1853-2-20-fs-301-au55-ngc/a/1385-4420.s>)

This NGC AU55 example offers a strong collector-grade representative of the variety, with the diagnostic features of the FS-301 overdate readily visible and the typical Type I No Motto design of James B. Longacre.