1853-O $20 MS(PCGS#8910)

June 2026 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2257

Grade

AU58

Price

19,520

Lot Description

Highly desirable quality and superior eye appeal for this scarcer New Orleans Mint double eagle issue. It is a vivid example bathed in warm honey-orange and deeper olive-gold colors. Overall boldly defined with much original frosty luster evident as the surfaces rotate under a strong 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 visually appealing example for the grade that would do nicely in an advanced double eagle set or Southern gold cabinet.