Desirable 1854-O Double Eagle, Net VF30

1854-O $20 --Cleaned--ANACS. XF Details. Net VF30. Substantial quantities of gold were discovered in California in 1848, triggering the Gold Rush that is so familiar today. As the New Orleans Mint was the closest federal facility, it received increasingly large quantities of the yellow material over the next few years. From 1838 through 1849, New Orleans coiners converted an average of 69,407 ounces of gold into coin. From 1850 to 1853, the average annual production of gold coinage utilized 242,243 ounces of gold, and from 1854 until 1861, the total annual production just barely exceeded 26,500 ounces of gold.
With branch mints opened in Charlotte, Dahlonega, and New Orleans, in 1838, those facilities were well established by the time of the California gold discoveries. In earlier years, Charlotte and Dahlonega primarily handled gold that was mined in the Southeastern U.S. Meanwhile, New Orleans handled gold that was imported from South and Central America.
Once the new San Francisco Mint became operational in 1854, the supply of gold once sent to New Orleans was substantially reduced. In 1854, the San Francisco Mint struck nearly 200,000 ounces of gold into coins, gold that would otherwise have gone to New Orleans. The new San Francisco facility is clearly the reason that the 1854-O double eagle is a major rarity, from a mintage of only 3,250 coins. Only about 30 to 35 of those coins still survive today, including a single example in the Smithsonian Institute. Today, most known 1854-O twenties grade in the VF to XF range. A single example from the S.S. Republic treasure graded AU58.
The current certified population of the issue includes this coin along with: VF (1-PCGS); XF40 (2-PCGS), XF45 (1-NGC, 1-PCGS); AU50 (3-NGC; 4-PCGS); AU53 (6-NGC; 2-PCGS); AU55 (2-NGC, 3-PCGS); and AU58 (3-NGC).
This issue, along with the 1856-O, are two of the rarest and highly desirable double eagles in the Liberty series. In their Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins 1795-1933, Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth comment: "The 1854-O double eagle has always been in great demand, but with the recent interest in the field of double eagles, the 1854-O issue has become nearly priceless." The 1854-O double eagle also warrants a chapter in Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth's 100 Greatest U.S. Coins.
The present specimen is a remarkable example, despite its ANACS description, with light greenish-gold surfaces, perhaps ever so slightly brighter than they should be. The devices have a slightly subdued yellow appearance from its time in circulation. The obverse and reverse surfaces have an acceptable number of small abrasions that are fully consistent with an XF grade. The rims are smooth without any indication of bruises or other problems. The overall appearance of this wonderful rarity is exceptional. For the collector who has been seeking the issue, the present opportunity should not be missed, for if missed, it will make some other collector very happy.
Ex: Bowers and Merena (1/1999), lot 1467.
From The Deadwood Gulch Collection.(Registry values: N7079) (#8912)

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