1865 $20 MS(PCGS#8943)

1865 $20 MS (PCGS#8943)

June 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Losbeschreibung: Here is a solidly graded and highly desirable Uncirculated coin that will appeal to discerning double eagle enthusiasts as well as collectors of shipwreck treasure. It is intensely lustrous with pale golden-wheat color on both sides. Parallel die polish lines in the obverse field impart a modestly reflective finish that frames the satiny design elements; the reverse is universally satiny. A shallow scuff in the lower left obverse field accounts for the BU designation from NGC, but the surfaces are otherwise impressively smooth for the assigned grade and worthy of a strong bid.Circulation strike double eagle production at the Philadelphia Mint amounted to 351,175 coins in 1865. Since gold coins continued to be hoarded in the East and Midwest, these were available only at a premium in terms of Legal Tender notes. Q. David Bowers estimated a surviving population of only 14 to 18 different Mint State examples in his Guide Book of Double Eagle Gold Coins published in 2004. At the time this dovetailed nicely with David W. Akers' research, as he found just eight auction listings of specimens cataloged as Uncirculated when he wrote his widely used double eagle reference book in 1982. Later came news from Odyssey Marine Exploration of 363 pieces found in the wreck of the S.S. Republic. This is one of the nicer certified examples from that treasure, a truly lovely coin for the assigned grade that would serve as a highlight in an advanced double eagle set.