1891 $20 PR(PCGS#9107)

June 2026 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2273

Grade

PR58

Price

20,740

Lot Description

Rich orange-gold surfaces with heavily frosted motifs and deeply mirrored fields. Strike detail remains virtually full throughout the design, and it is mostly a plethora of small and moderate-size handling marks that explains the Proof-58 grade from NGC. Still a visually appealing coin, a significant rarity as a Proof Liberty Head twenty irrespective of date, and of the utmost desirability given the key date status of the circulation strike 1891 Philadelphia Mint double eagle.<p>The Philadelphia Mint produced just 52 Proof double eagles in 1891 using a single pair of dies that have recently become known as JD-1 (John W. Dannreuther, 2018). As with all issues in the Proof Liberty Head double eagle series, the 1891 is a major numismatic rarity at all levels of preservation. Dannreuther estimates that only 18 to 22 coins are extant, an estimate that is actually a bit higher than those of contemporary Proof double eagle issues with similar mintages. The reason for this, in Dannreuther's words:<p><em>The 1,390 mintage of the circulation strikes [from the Philadelphia Mint that year] makes date pressure the primary reason that more 1891 Proofs have survived than for 1890 that had an almost identical production. This is a common theme for all United States issues with low circulation strike outputs. Collectors would not spend a Proof issue if they knew that other collectors would pay a premium for their coins or they could not easily replace their Proof with a commercial strike.</em><p>Now as then, the low mintage and key date status of the circulation strike 1891 double eagle keeps demand for the surviving Proofs high among advanced gold enthusiasts.<p>Of course, the Proof 1891 is an impressive rarity in its own right with examples seldom appearing on the market. This is a particularly interesting offering in that it is for a coin whose appearance suggests a course of action virtually ruled out by Dannreuther's argument, as quoted above. Indeed, the surfaces are highly suggestive of a coin that was released into commercial channels and spent decades being moved from vault to vault in a bag with circulation strike double eagles. It survived nonetheless, and has come down to the present day retaining irrefutable evidence of its Proof status. The opportunity to acquire any Proof $20 of this date deserves serious bidder consideration, and we expect keen interest in this ex Fairmont Collection specimen.