1866-S
Double Eagle - 1866-S $20 No Motto PCGS XF45
CAC. This last Type 1 Twenty Without
Motto type, Western branch mint 1866-S double
eagle is tied for the third finest known at
CAC. The coin is a mixture of rose and yellow
gold with the former outlining the devices.
Splashes of muted mint luster are seen on
both sides of the coin. The colors and luster
prove the coin’s originality. The surfaces
are clean for the grade with no notable abrasion
marks or other distractions. The strike is
strong with full details on the centers of
the stars and the design details of the reverse,
especially the eagle. The CAC sticker tells
us that the coin is a premium quality piece
that fully merits the assigned grade.
The motto IN
GOD WE TRUST was added to the original double
eagle by enlarging the oval of stars above
the eagle’s head and placing the motto
in it. This modification did not require a
major alteration of the design as was the
case with adding the motto to the lower denominations.
It was made at the behest of Salmon P. Chase,
Secretary of Treasury and Congress because
of pressure brought about by the Reverend
M.R. Watkinson of Ridleyville, Pennsylvania.
Despite this
new coinage act, the 1866 San Francisco double
eagle coins were minted without the new motto.
Obviously older dies were in use in the branch
mint and were used for this date. All branch
mint double eagle dies were made in Philadelphia,
and it is reasonable to assume that the trip
was too long for the new dies to reach San
Francisco on time.
The double eagle
was designed by James B. Longacre. It shows
a Liberty head facing left, wearing coronet
inscribed LIBERTY. Her hair is tightly tied
in the back with two loose curls hanging down
her neck to the end of the truncation. She
is surrounded by thirteen six-pointed stars
with the date below. Dentils are near the
edge on both sides of the coin. The reverse
shows a heraldic eagle with elaborate ribbons
on both sides of the shield extending from
the top corner down to the eagle’s tail
feathers. The ribbons are inscribed, on the
left E PLURIBUS and UNUM on the right. The
ribbons were added to the design to symbolize
the denomination since this was the first
twenty dollar coin. There is an oval of thirteen
stars above the eagle’s head and an
arc of rays from wing tip to wing tip behind
the upper half of the oval. UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA is in an arc above the eagle, and
the denomination TWENTY D. is below. The mintmark
is between the tail feathers and the N of
TWENTY.
Longacre was
born in Pennsylvania in 1794. When he finished
his apprenticeship in Philadelphia as a bookseller
and a banknote engraver, he worked on his
own as an engraver of book illustrations and
bank notes. His works included one on the
signers of the Declaration of Independence
and another on stage personalities. In 1830,
Longacre began a series of biographies of
famous men in the military and the political
arena. In 1834 the result of this series became
the National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished
Americans that was published in four volumes.
Longacre and those who worked with him became
famous because of this work.
In 1844 Longacre
came to work at the Mint. He was opposed by
Franklin Peale, the Chief Coiner. Peale was
probably responsible for some blundered dies
that Longacre was criticized for making. Peal
was involved in a private, illegal medal manufacturing
business using Mint facilities. He was concerned
that this new political appointee would interfere
with his business, and he resisted Longacre’s
appointment as Chief Engraver. Finally in
1854, Peale was fired by President Franklin
Pearce. Longacre flourished in his position
and was responsible for creating many new
designs including the Indian Head cent, the
two-cent piece, the Shield nickel, the Liberty
Head gold dollar, the Indian Princess gold
dollar, the three-dollar gold piece, and the
Liberty Head double eagle.
The San Francisco
Mint opened in 1854 because of the need to
coin gold resulting from the California Gold
Rush. In the West there was an abundance of
gold bullion, nuggets and dust; however, there
was also an acute shortage of circulating
coinage. Congress authorized this mint to
relieve the shortage and coin silver and gold
and because transportation of bullion to Philadelphia
was time consuming and hazardous. Because
of its proximity to the Gold Rush area, San
Francisco was chosen as the site of the new
mint. In 1874 it moved into a new building
called the Old United States Mint or the Granite
Lady. It is one of the few structures that
survived the earthquake of 1906. It remained
in service as a mint until 1938, when the
present facility opened.
In its first
year of operation the Mint made four million
dollars in gold coins from bullion. The second
building, the Old United States Mint, was
designed by Alfred B. Mullett in Greek Revival
style. It was built in an E-shape with a central
pediment portico. There was a completely enclosed
courtyard that had a well. It was these features
that saved it in the fire that resulted from
the earthquake of 1906. The building was situated
on a concrete and granite foundation that
was made to prevent tunneling into its vaults.
In 1906 there was $300 million, a third of
the United States’ gold reserves, in
its vaults. Frank Leach and his men worked
heroically to successfully preserve the building
and the bullion. The mint was able to resume
service and operated until 1937. It was designated
a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
Since most of
the building was made of sandstone, the nickname
of “The Granite Lady” is a misnomer.
Only the basement was made from granite. It
was opened to visitors in 1993 and sold to
the City of San Francisco for one dollar in
2003 for use as the Museum of the City of
San Francisco.
The CAC
sticker indicates that the coin is of premium
quality . This is an awesome specimen of this
rare double eagle that is amazingly original
and beautiful. PLEASE click on the larger
images and see for yourself. Only 2 1866-S
No Motto Double Eagles coins have been approved
by CAC in XF-45 with a mere 2 higher. This
is an extremely rare coin in any grade making
this fantastic specimen an opportunity to
own this great 66-S Type 1 Double Eagle that's
among the nicest you will ever have a chance
to own. Few and Far between, You will not
want to sell this one once you own it. A Keeper!
Please contact me by email or phone to reserve
this coin.
