LIBERTY
HEAD (NO MOTTO ON REVERSE) TWENTY DOLLARS OR DOUBLE EAGLE
(1849-1866)
1857-O Double Eagle
1857-O
Double Eagle or $20 Gold
PCGS
No:
8921
Circulation
strikes Mintage:
30,000
Proofs:
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) below the eagle's tail on the
reverse.
Introduction:
After the tiny production of New Orleans double eagles
in 1856, the mintage rose sharply to 30,000 coins
in 1857. Most of these were widely distributed and
well circulated. The average 1857-O double eagle seen
today is only Very Fine or Extremely Fine. There have
quite a few examples offered at auction in the last
15 years that have graded About Uncirculated, but
most of these have been on the lower end of that scale.
High-grade examples of the 1857-O double eagle are
sometimes prooflike, and the mintmark is often very
weak. The absolute finest example known for the issue
is the MS-63 piece that was a part of the Bass Collection.
That coin sold in 2000 for nearly $100,000. The Smithsonian
has two examples, both of which grade AU-55. The S.S.
Republic held just four examples.
Key to Collecting:
Despite a mintage of 30,000 pieces very few 1857-O
double eagles exist today, probably below 150 all
told. Most are graded VF or EF.
Aspects of Striking: Usually sharply struck.
Die Data: Most lightly
struck on the obverse, particularly at the left border.
High grade examples usually display some prooflike
surface, especially on the reverse. Die Data: Standard
four-digit logotype punch for this year.
Number of Appearances:
80 (18%)
High Grade Condition Points: 20
Average Grade: VF-35
Auction Records: (3) Unc: RARCOA 8/78; Menjou 1950;
Bell 1944
(14) AU:
Hughes 2/78; Stack's 6/77; GENA 1975; Pine Tree 6/75;
Paramount 2/74; Stack's 2/73; Kreisberg/Cohen 9/71;
ANA 1971; Kreisberg/Cohen 11/70, 6/70; Stack's 3/69,
5/68; Golden 1962; Kern 1950
(33) EF:
Stack's 12/81, 9/81, 6/81; NASCA 4/80; Stack's 3/80
(2), 2/80; Hughes 10/79; Stack's 6/79; Ivy 5/79, 2/79;
Stack's 2/79; B&R 5/77, 10/76; ANA 1976; Peters
4/76; Paramount 11/75; Pine Tree 6/75; Stack's 4/30/75;
RARCOA 4/75; Pine Tree 2/75; Scanlon 1973; Gilhousen
1973; Stack's 1/70; Kreisberg/Cohen 6/68; Stack's
4/67, 10/66; Bolt 1966; Bell 1963; Golden 1963; ANA
1956; Atwater 1946; WGC 1946
(27) VF:
Stack's 9/79; New England 3; 79; Kagin's 9/78; Stack's
9/77; Ivy 4/77; Stack's 2/77; Paramount 5/76; Superior
10/74; ANA 1974; Paramount 11/72, 3/72; Stack's 4/71;
Superior 3/71; DiBello 1970; Miles 1968; Shuford 1968;
Paramount 3/66; Kosoff 10/65; Paramount 10/65, 2/65;
Walton 1963; Wolfson 1962; Holmes 1960; Melish 1956;
Farouk 1954; MC 1948; Lee 1947
(3) Fine:
New England 1/80; Kreisberg/Cohen 11/70; ANA 1964
Comments: The 1857-O Double Eagle is a rare date in
any condition and most known examples grade only VF
or EF. There are at most a mere handful of strictly
graded A U coins in existence and I have personally
examined only one unc, the very choice Kaufman specimen
(pictured above) now in the Bass Collection. Overall,
the 1857-O is slightly less rare than the 1858-O and
is perhaps just a bit more rare than the lower mintage
186 l-O. It is also decidedly more rare than the O-Mint
issues from 1850 to 1853. The typical 1857-O is semi-prooflike
or prooflike.
1857
HISTORICAL HIGHTLIGHTS
Washington. D.C..
Feb. 21. Congress passes legislation barring
use of foreign coins in United Slates. Washington. D.C.. March 3. Congress
appropriates $70.000 to assist trans-AtliiiitLC cable
financed by Cyrus Field. United States. May 26. Dred Scotl
freed by his new owner (-Dec. 31). United States, June 27. Scientific
American cites threat to whale population, as in¬creased
literacy rate heightens demand for lamp oil. Oregon Territory July 1. Henry Pittock
and three others reach top of Mount Hood. Washington, D.C., July 13. Alfred
Cumming officially replaces Brigham Young as Governor
of Utah, with authority to use federal troops to enforce
national law (—Oct. 4). Valentia Bay, Ireland. Aug. 14. Ships
from United States and Britain assemble to begin laying
first trans-Atlantic cableVSepl. 2, IK5B). New York City, First passenger elevator,
invented by Elisha Otis. installed in Haughwout Department
Store. Moline, Illinois. John Deere is producing
10.000 steel plows a year. Chicago. Baseball ruling sets length
of game at nine innings. New York City. Cooper Union founded
by Peter Cooper, providing education for working class. Michigan. Thomas F.dison founds chemistry
lab at home, marking all bottles "poison."
to ainuscmenl of friends. Arizona. Edward Beale blazes wagon
trail from Fort Defiance to Colorado, using camels
as pack animals (— June 16). United States. American cities reportedly
have highest death rales in world, due. in large part,
in tuberculosis. San Diego, California. Introduction
of Italian honeybees begins honey industry here. New York City. Lithographers Nathaniel
Currier and James Merrill Ives establish their own
imprinl. Charleston, S.C. Hinton Rower Helper,
in Vie Impend¬ing Crisis of the Stmth. argues
that slavery ultimately impoverishes whites in South.
