1854 $20 (1854 Double Eagle) Large Date, NGC AU55 CAC. Type 1 Double Eagle. This fully struck, large date variety 1854 Double Eagle has subdued mint luster remaining in its protected areas. The centers of the stars and the hair details are strong. Even stronger are the eagle and other features of the reverse. Sufficient separation exists in the lines of Libertys hair and the back portion of the coronet to warrant the grade, which is confirmed by CAC. Its sticker is placed only on premium quality coins that are identified as being solid for the grade.

James Barton Longacre designed the pattern for the double eagle in 1849. It was produced because of the huge amount of gold that came into the Mint from California. With the discovery of gold at Sutters Mill in January 1848, the California gold rush began. It led to an influx of miners and others into the area. The vast quantity of gold produced led to a need for a standard form of exchange. The twenty dollar coin was the governments response. They also felt that it would be useful for large commercial transactions and that it would facilitate foreign trade.

Longacres design 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 eagles 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 double eagle coin. There is an oval of thirteen stars above the eagles 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.

James Barton 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 planned to do 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 Longacres 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 dollars, the Three-dollar gold piece, and, the Liberty Head double eagle.

The 1854 double eagle was made with both large and small date. The large date variety, the present coin, is the rarer. The date was made from the logotype that was used for the 1854 silver dollar. In its population report, NGC has certified 35 Large Dates in AU55 condition with 28 better. In the same grade there are 73 Small Dates with 110 better.
As of September, 2011 CAC has confirmed 1Large Date variety, the present coin, in AU55 with 3 better.