1875 $20 MS(PCGS#8973)

February 2025 Showcase Auction - U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2188

Grade

MS61

Price

3,360

Lot Description

Fully original surfaces display rich, attractive color that provides outstanding eye appeal. The luster is full and the strike is sharp, especially for a Liberty Head double eagle of the Motto, TWENTY D. design. Nicely preserved and visually appealing, this coin would serve with distinction in an advanced numismatic cabinet. The Philadelphia Mint produced 295,720 circulation strike double eagles in 1875. Much of the mintage was sent overseas in commercial banking transactions. We estimate that some 1,000 to 1,500 Mint State examples are extant, mostly in lower grades through MS-62. Most of these coins are from foreign bank hoards repatriated in the late 20th century, providing opportunities for today's Mint State type and date collectors that did not exist for earlier generations of numismatists.