1854 Double Eagle - 1854 $20, Small Date, NGC AU55 CAC. This sharp-looking, well struck, Choice AU 1854 Double Eagle has original mint luster in protected areas on both sides of the coin. There are full details on the centers of the stars, Libertys hair, and the design details of the reverse, especially the eagle. The surfaces, which are a mixture of pinkish and yellow gold, are clearly original and clean for the grade. There are no abrasion marks or other distractions worthy of individual mention. The CAC sticker tells us that the coin is of premium quality and fully merits the grade assigned.

James Barton Longacre designed the pattern for the twenty dollar 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 double eagle was the governments response. They also felt that the new denomination would be useful for large commercial transactions and that it would facilitate foreign trade.

Longacres design for the double eagle 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 twenty dollar 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. The mintmark is between the tail feathers and the N of TWENTY.

In 1844 Longacre was appointed Mint Engraver through the influence of Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. After overcoming opposition by the Chief Coiner, Franklin Peale, who was fearful that the new Engraver would interfere with his illegal medal manufacturing business using the Mint facilities, Longacre did well. He 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. 

In its population report, as of July 2013, CAC shows 3 1854 Small Date Double Eagles confirmed at the AU55 grade level.