5585

1853-O $20 AU55 NGC. This is the last of the "common"

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1853-O $20 AU55 NGC. This is the last of the  common
<B>1853-O<$20> AU55 NGC.</B></I> This is the last of the "common" New Orleans Mint double eagles, with a mintage of 71,000 coins. All remaining double eagle issues from the Louisiana Mint are low-production rarities. Dave Bowers called this issue the "gatekeeper to what becomes a series of hard-to-find New Orleans double eagles." Typical examples are apt to grade XF or low in the AU grade level. Coinage dies were sent to New Orleans <I>and</B></I> San Francisco. Only obverse dies were sent to New Orleans, with reverse dies still available from those sent in earlier years. Breen recorded a doubled obverse die for this date, with the discovery coin appearing in Lester Merkin's auction of October 1966. From the Philadelphia Mint, five pairs of double eagle dies were actually sent to the San Francisco Mint in 1853, in anticipation of that facility beginning coinage operations. These coinage dies remained unused, and the first actual double eagle coinage occurred in 1854. However, it is certainly interesting to contemplate an 1853-S Liberty double eagle.<BR> This New Orleans Mint double eagle is a lovely example with light greenish-gold color and faint orange toning along the borders. The surfaces have light abrasions, but none of the usual distracting marks that are almost always seen on this issue. A common characteristic of double eagles from The Wyoming Collection are splendid surfaces for a given grade coin. This collector is a true connoisseur who would often choose quality over high technical grade. Nearly every double eagle in this collection is an aesthetically desirable example.<BR><I>From The Wyoming Collection.</B></I>