1853-O $20 MS(PCGS#8910)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

3160

Grade

AU55

Price

15,600

Lot Description

Highly desirable quality and strong eye appeal for this scarcer New Orleans Mint double eagle issue. It is a warmly patinated example bathed in deep honey-orange and olive-gold colors. Overall boldly defined with glints of original frosty luster evident as the surfaces dip into a light.<p>Double eagle production at the New Orleans Mint reached its lowest point since the beginning of the series in 1853 with just 71,000 pieces produced. The distribution of the 1853-O is the same as that of the 1850 to 1852 New Orleans Mint deliveries, the coins seeing extensive domestic circulation in the South and west of the Mississippi River beginning in the year of issue. Some worn examples were likely included in international transactions of later years. Only 500 to 600 coins are believed extant in all grades, and Q. David Bowers (2004) describes the 1853-O as " the gatekeeper to what becomes a series of hard-to-find New Orleans double eagles." This is a pleasing example for the grade that is highly recommended for inclusion in an advanced double eagle set or Southern gold cabinet.