LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 April Rosemont, IL (CSNS) US Coin #1104  / 

2539

1853 $20 Assay Office Twenty Dollar, 900 Thous.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:16,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1853 $20 Assay Office Twenty Dollar, 900 Thous.
<B>1853 $20 Assay Office Twenty Dollar, 900 Thous. MS63 NGC.</B></I> K-18, R.2. The 1853 U.S. Assay Office ten and twenty dollar pieces went a long way toward alleviating the chronic shortage of smaller-denomination gold coins in early-1850s California. There are however, larger numbers of Mint State pieces surviving compared to the octagonal fifty dollar "slugs." Perhaps the easing currency shortage and the smaller denominations made it easier for a few early collectors to afford to set aside a nice Uncirculated example as a memento of the rough-and-tumble Gold Rush era. <BR> All examples of this issue are in reality .900 over .880, but the underdigits .880 fade with die usage. As of (3/08) NGC has graded 24 pieces in MS63, with an equal number finer.<BR> This is an amazingly strong strike for an Assay twenty. In fact, this piece has the best central definition we can remember seeing on this type (which is usually soft on the eagle's feathers and arrow fletchings). The mint luster is frosted and only interrupted by a few scattered, small marks in the obverse fields. Heavy metal flow is also noted in the obverse fields. Rich green-gold color overall. Listed on page 356 of the 2008 <I>Guide Book</B></I>.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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