1885 $20 MS61 PCGS....

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1885 Liberty Double Eagle, MS61
Low-Mintage Philadelphia Issue
Only 751 Examples Struck

1885 $20 MS61 PCGS. The 1885 double eagle is on the short list of the United States' lowest-mintage gold coins that were actually produced as business strikes rather than in proof-only format. The 1885 twenties have an impossibly low mintage of 751 coins, although its foundational rarity is somewhat overshadowed by the 1882 double eagle, which has an even lower production, recorded at 571 pieces.

Despite the incredibly low business-strike production, the issue may be somewhat underrated, even today. Garrett and Guth posit the following in their gold Encyclopedia:

"The availability of Proof examples is the only thing keeping this issue from being extremely expensive. The Smithsonian collection lacks a circulation-strike example of the date for this reason. It is estimated that there are fewer than 100 known in all grades. Most of the 1885 double eagles seen by the authors have been in circulated condition. There are a few examples known at the Choice level."

What Garrett and Guth allude to here is the 19th century preference (of the few well-heeled collectors who could afford to dabble in twenty dollar gold pieces) for proof coins over business strikes, no matter how low the mintage. Of course, the desirability and costly nature of high-grade proof Liberty Head gold coinage from the 19th century only reinforces how difficult, elusive, and desirable the business-strike 1885 double eagles truly are.

In MS61 this coin is one of three so certified at PCGS, with six coins finer (2/21). This example offers splendid eye appeal throughout, with colorful orange-gold surfaces. A few ticks on the obverse are noted, along with a couple of others on the reverse shield. But it is probably two small obverse digs, between stars 4 and 5, that preclude an even higher grade. The coin nonetheless radiates outstanding eye appeal.

Why were so few double eagles produced of this date and mint? For much of the 1880s, the San Francisco Mint had churned out double eagles by the millions each year; perhaps there was simply little need for P-mint twenties. Apparently, this division of labor made good sense throughout the 1880s. The San Francisco Mint's proximity to the western gold fields and the hard money economy of the region encouraged production of large denomination gold coins, while the eastern parts of the country were more comfortable with paper money and had less demand for large gold coins in circulation.
Ex: October Signature (Heritage, 10/2009), lot 1754; Long Beach Signature (Heritage, 9/2012), lot 5077.
From The Selman Family Collection. (Registry values: N7079)

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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