1869 $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle NGC MS62

A substantial 175,130 Liberty head double eagles were produced in Philadelphia in 1869. A majority of this issue was obtained by large banks and other trading firms who employed them for international trade, shipping them in large numbers overseas. Those that remained in America saw ample circulation and are typically found in grades of XF to AU. Significant numbers of the 1869 $20s wound up in the melting pots of the Treasury during the 1930s, leaving few behind. Writes Stack’s Bowers, “After the Second World War, some of the coins that were shipped overseas found their way back to the United States, but only a few turned out to be in Mint State, almost exclusively between MS-60 and MS-62. Above that level and this issue is a major condition rarity.”

NGC has graded 6 of this issue as MS62 with a sole piece finer (in MS63). Collectors Universe gives this issue a price of $25,000.00 in MS62.

The Second Philadelphia Mint, where this rare piece was struck in 1869. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.