LIBERTY
HEAD (NO MOTTO ON REVERSE) TWENTY DOLLARS OR DOUBLE EAGLE
(1849-1866)
1855-O Double Eagle
1855-O
Double Eagle or $20 Gold
PCGS
No:
8915
Circulation
strikes Mintage:
8,000
Proofs:
0
Designer:
James Barton
Longacre
Diameter:
±34
millimeters
Metal
content:
Gold - 90%
Other - 10%
Weight:
±516
grains (±33.4 grams)
Edge:
Reeded
Mintmark:
"O"
(for New Orleans, LA) below the eagle's tail on
the reverse.
Introduction:
The rarity of the 1855-O double eagle is often overshadowed
by the 1854-O and 1856-O issues. There are fewer than
100 examples known for the date in all grades. This
is especially important considering the fact that
double eagles are one of the most popular U.S. coins.
Most of the coins known for the date are low grade.
The treasure of the S.S. Republic featured three examples,
all of which grade AU-58. The Smithsonian has two
specimens, both of which are About Uncirculated. Mint
State coins are very rare, and those that have been
cer¬tified as such are barely so. An NGC MS-60
example sold at auction in 2005 for $37,375.
Key to Collecting:
The 1855-O, sandwiched between the classic rarities
1854-O and 1856-O, is very hard to find in any grade.
Fewer than a hundred pieces are believed to exist,
mostly VF and EF, these grades holding for most of
the great "name" collections formed over
the years. A few Mint State pieces have been described
in the literature and have been certified, these at
the lower end of
the MS scale.
Aspects of Striking: Often fairly well struck,
but there are exceptions. On some the first obverse
star is lightly struck. High grade coins have partial
to extensive prooflike surface.
Die Data: Standard
four-digit logotype punch for this year. 4 obverse
dies were shipped to New Orleans. Reverse dies were
on hand from earlier times.
Number of Appearances:
42 (9%)
High Grade Condition Points: 4
Average Grade: VF-31
Auction Records: (4) AU: ANA 1971; Kreisberg/Cohen
6/70; Lee 1947; Atwater 1946
(19) VF:
New England 4/80, 1/80; ANA 1975; Superior 10/74;
ANA 1974; Gilhousen 1973; Superior 3/71; Alto 1970;
Kreisberg/Cohen 11/70; Miles 1968; Shuford 1968; Stack's
4/67; Kosoff 10/65; Paramount 2/65; Bell 1963; Holmes
I960; Melish 1956; Farouk 1954; MC 1948
(1) Fine:
Menjou 1950
(1) VG:
Kreisberg 6/65
Comments: This is one of my favorite Double Eagles.
I think that it is one of the most unappreciated coins
in the series and it is undeniably one of the rarest,
especially in high grade. It is not quite as rare
overall as the 1854-O and 1856-O but the difference
in rarity is not as great as the price differential
would imply. Furthermore, I feel the 1855-O is actually
rarer than either the 1854-O or 1856-O in high grade
and is one of the two or three rarest Double Eagles
with respect to condition rarity. Although there are
several auction records for AU's, I have never seen
one at that level. The two finest specimens I know
of are the choice EF-45's in a prominent Dallas bank
collection and the Eliasberg Collection and I have
seen only a few other solid EF-40's. Most of those
I've encountered were only VF and, in truth, this
date is not often seen in any grade. Not included
in the 443 sales used in this analysis were two sales
(Deetz, Stack's 1946 and C. W. Green, Mehl 1949) that
contained specimens graded "uncirculated."
I have not personally examined either of those coins
and therefore cannot vouch for their condition. However,
based on what I have seen and heard of, I am skeptical
that they would grade uncir¬culated by today's
standards. The 1855-O is always semi-prooflike or
prooflike.
1855
HISTORICAL HIGHTLIGHTS
New York City,
Feb. 6. Anti-Slavery Soeietv hears Ralph
Waldo Emerson estimate that $200 million would be
enough to buy every slave's freedom. Washington, D.C., March 3. Congress
agrees to Secretary of War Jefferson Davis's plan
to import Egyptian camels to Southwest at cost of
$30.000. Massachusetts, Apr. 28. Segregation
banned in all schools. New York City, May 9. Brownhelm County,
Ohio, clerk John Mercer Langston, first Negro elected
to public office in United States, addresses American
Anti-Slavery Society. Kansas, August. John Brown joins
his sons and becomes leader of local militia (-»
Aug. 30, 1856). Seattle, Washington, Sept. 28. Puget
Sound Anti-Chinese Congress decides to frighten Chinese
into leaving state; (many do depart] (-• Nov.
3). Tacoma, Washington, Nov. 3. Led by
mayor, sheriff and deputies, a mob travels through
Chinese district. throwing Chinese out of town (-9). Tacoma, Washington, Nov. 9.U.S. troops
arrive to arrest residents who were involved in expulsion
of Chinese. California. Firsl lighthouse on Pacific
Ocean is built off coast of San Diego. Nevrtown Creek, New York. Dr. Abraham
Gesner makes kerosene from raw petroleum; promotes
it as patent medicine. Watertown, Wisconsin. First kindergarten
in United States, though German-speaking, founded
by Mrs. Carl Schurz. Salt Lake City. Brigham Young proclaims
thai a single drop of Negro blood renders a man unfit
to enter Mormon priesthood. United States. American Telegraph
Co. formed to transmit messages in Eastern states. United States. Frank Leslie's Illustrated
Newspaper begun. New York City. In seven years since
its printing. Stephen Foster's Cantpiown Races has
earned him only $101.25. New York City. My Bondage. My Freedom
published by ex-slave and abolitionistFrederick
Douglass.
