1850 $20 MS63 NGC....

Description

Conditionally Rare 1850 Twenty, MS63

1850 $20 MS63 NGC. Production of the double eagle is tied to the enabling legislation for the gold dollar. The gold dollar was in trouble in the House, and Mint Director Robert Maskell Patterson opposed it as well. The objection was the tiny size of the gold dollar--it seemed to Patterson to be little more than play money and he deemed it unworthy of a great nation. However when the double eagle was added to the bill for the gold dollar, there was a new and powerful constituency for the larger coin. Bankers especially liked the twenty dollar gold piece as it could be used to store large quantities of money in a relatively small space. Thus, legislation for the gold dollar was passed on the coat tails of the double eagle's popularity.
Preparation of dies took considerable time in 1849 and only two patterns were struck with that date. One is in the Smithsonian today, and the whereabouts of the other piece are unknown. The 1849 twenty is obviously a pattern, as one can readily see when viewing the piece, which makes the 1850 the first year of regular issue for this highly collectible series. Relatively large numbers of 1850 twenties were set aside, no doubt as curiosities. Most survivors are XF-AU, and Uncirculated examples are rarely encountered. In fact, the combined numbers graded by both of the major services is 146 submissions, and almost half of those are MS62 (65 pieces). There is a sharp drop off at the MS63 level with only 17 pieces so graded, and a mere four coins finer (10/09).
This is an interesting piece that has a different look on each side. The obverse has semiprooflike fields, while the reverse is satiny throughout. The striking details are full on each side, and the only mentionable defect is a diagonal mark at the top and forefront of Liberty's neck.(Registry values: N7079)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 268F, PCGS# 8902, GSID# 9785)

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper
Weight: 33.44 grams
AGW: 0.9675oz
Mintage: 1,170,261

Note for clients in the European Union: This lot is considered by the European Union to be “investment gold”. We believe that it meets the criteria established in Article 344(1), point (2) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC and thus should be exempt from import VAT regardless of the selling price. Any questions or concerns about VAT should be addressed to your accountant or local tax authority.

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