1862 $20 MS63+★ NGC. CAC....

Description

1862 Liberty Double Eagle, MS63+★
Low-Mintage Philadelphia Issue
Only One Finer Certified

1862 $20 MS63+★ NGC. CAC. The Civil War ushered in an era of economic uncertainty, causing widespread hoarding or export of all precious-metal coinage. Accordingly, the United States government suspended specie payments late in 1861. As might be expected, the mintage of double eagles dropped at the Philadelphia Mint the following year, when only 92,098 business-strike examples were struck. As a result, the 1862 is the most elusive Type One Liberty double eagle from the Philadelphia Mint today (discounting the uncollectible 1861 Paquet Reverse) and examples are rare in all grades. Eight examples were recovered from the wreck of the S.S. Republic, and another was found in the treasure of the S.S. Brother Jonathan, but no large hoards of this issue have ever surfaced. Doug Winter estimates the surviving population at 150-200 examples in all grades, with most examples seen in the XF-AU grade range.

There was little numismatic interest in regular-issue double eagles at the time, as most 19th century collectors could not afford to set aside date runs of twenty dollar coins, and the wealthy collectors who could preferred proofs. Large denomination gold coins seldom appeared at auction before the 1930s. One early appearance of the 1862 Liberty double eagle was in lot 3062 of the Sloane, Lenz, and Others Collections (Thomas Elder, 1/1936), where the cataloger noted, "1862. P. Mint. Fine, Very rare." The terse description was typical of that era. Thanks to researchers like David Akers, Doug Winter, and Mike Fuljenz, catalogers have an extensive body of knowledge to draw on for descriptions today. Auction prices realized have skyrocketed in recent years, as evidenced by the MS63 PCGS example in lot 4033 of the ANA Signature (Heritage, 8/2020), which brought $78,000.

This Plus-graded Select example has been awarded the Star designation and the high quality within the grade is confirmed by the CAC sticker. The design elements are sharply detailed throughout and the lightly marked orange-gold surfaces show a mix of satiny mint luster and prooflike reflectivity in the fields. Eye appeal is terrific. This coin is the second-finest certified example at either of the leading grading services, by virtue of its Plus and Star designations (1/22). It should find a home in the finest collection or Registry Set.(Registry values: N7079)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 269M, PCGS# 8937, Greysheet# 9799)

Weight: 33.44 grams

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper

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.

View Certification Details from NGC