1885 $20 AU58 PCGS....

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Sold on Jan 4, 2018 for:

$63,000.00 Bid Source: HA.com/Live bidder

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1885 Liberty Double Eagle, AU58
Classic Twenty Dollar Rarity
Only 751 Examples Struck

1885 $20 AU58 PCGS. The 1885 Liberty double eagle claims a tiny mintage of just 751 pieces, making it a rare issue in all grades today. The small mintage was in accordance with Mint policy of the time, which sought to reduce production of double eagles and increase the circulation of the five and ten dollar denominations. The Philadelphia Mint followed this policy for much of the 1880s, and small double eagle mintages were the rule, rather than the exception, during this time period. Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth discuss the 1885 double eagle in their Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins:

"The mintage for the 1885 double eagle is among the lowest of all U.S. issues. Very few gold coins have a mintage below 1,000. It goes without saying that the date is extremely popular. The availability of Proof examples is the only thing keeping this issue from being extremely expensive. The Smithsonian lacks a circulation-strike example for this reason. It is estimated that there are fewer than 100 known in all grades."

PCGS CoinFacts also estimates the surviving population at fewer than 100 examples, all told. The majority of coins seen are in circulated grades, as few high-grade specimens were preserved by contemporary collectors. The 1885 did not appear regularly in public offerings until well after the turn of the century, but the issue became slightly more available after World War II, when a limited number of coins surfaced in European holdings. P. Scott Rubin's research has uncovered only six public offerings before 1962. An early appearance was in lot 320 of the 11th Mail Bid Sale (B. Max Mehl, 2/1909), "Twenty Dollars. 1885 P Mint. Uncirculated. Very rare. Less than a thousand issued." The price realized record for the issue is $103,500, brought by the MS62 ★ NGC example in lot 2332 of the Summer FUN Signature (Heritage, 6/2008).

The present coin is an impressive near-Mint specimen that shows just a trace of high-point wear on the strongly impressed design elements. The yellow and greenish-gold surfaces include prooflike fields that exhibit the expected number of minor ticks and contact marks for the grade. The overall presentation is most attractive for this classic gold rarity. Population: 15 in 58, 8 finer (11/17).
From The Gator Man Collection. (Registry values: N4719)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 26BM, PCGS# 9003, Greysheet# 9821)

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.

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