1866 $20 Motto MS(PCGS#8949)

March 2021 U.S. Coins Auction

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

6035

Grade

AU55

Price

4,560

Lot Description

1866 Liberty Head Double Eagle. AU-55 (PCGS). Sharply defined overall with plenty of soft satin luster remaining, this endearing piece also sports pretty color in a blend of honey-olive and pale pinkish-gold. The first year of the Type II design with the addition of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse, the post-Civil War economy was still quite tenuous when the Philadelphia Mint struck 698,745 double eagles in 1866. The entire issue entered circulation with little fanfare, the coins subject to hoarding or used for overseas payments where specie was the preferred medium of exchange, a situation that would persist well into the 1870s. Even though a few thousand survivors are thought extant, almost all are at lower circulated grade levels. Popular as the first year for the type, here is a desirable and scarce Choice About Uncirculated example for the double eagle connoisseur. PCGS# 8949. NGC ID: 269X. Click here for certification details from PCGS.