5601

1856-O $20 AU50 PCGS. Many later-date P and S-mint twe

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:65.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1856-O $20 AU50 PCGS. Many later-date P and S-mint twe
<B>1856-O<$20> AU50 PCGS.</B></I> Many later-date P and S-mint twenties have mintages that exceed 1 million pieces. Here is a number to keep in mind: 831,441. That is the total number of New Orleans twenties produced. That is correct. Not one issue, but the total number produced from 1850 through 1879. The coin in question here has a mintage of only 2,250 pieces--not much of a contribution to the 831,441-piece total.<BR> It is not difficult to imagine why New Orleans coinage in general is so popular with collectors. The history associated with the city of New Orleans and its importance as a commercial hub to the South, give these coins an undeniable link to the monetary activity of the region. Unlike many later-date issues, New Orleans gold was struck to be used, not held in a bank as a storehouse of value. The extensive use in the channels of commerce of these pieces accounts for their status as absolute rarities rather than condition rarities. For example, any 1856-O or 1854-O is a noteworthy coin. Condition is a secondary consideration. From the collector's perspective, it is more important to be able to just locate one of these key issues, any one, rather than hold out for a coin that will match the other pieces in a high grade set.<BR> Fortunately this coin is both a representative of this key issue and also one of the finest examples known. The Condition Census for the 1856-O tops out at the AU58 grade, with the possible exception of the Specimen 63 coin that Heritage sold in January 2002 and again in June 2004, but that may be an unfair comparison as that coin is generally considered to be a proof. If one considers all coins in a given grade to be equal in quality (always a tricky assumption), then this piece is tied as fourth finest among coins certified. If we assume the PCGS and NGC coins certified are representative of the finest coins known, and excluding the