1856-S $20 SSCA (1856-S Double Eagle SS Central America) No Serif Left S, PCGS MS64 CAC. As indicated by its CAC sticker, this shipwrecked 1856-S Double Eagle is a premium quality coin. Although minted for regular circulation, the coin has a needle sharp strike worthy of a proof coin. Bright mint luster radiates from the devices, and the surfaces are free of any noteworthy distractions. The grade of MS64 is confirmed by CAC, but there is virtually nothing that keeps this coin from the gem grade.

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 mint mark is between the tail feathers and the N of TWENTY.

It is interesting to note that until the discovery of the shipwrecked S.S. Central America, 1850s double eagles in gem condition were virtually unavailable. The ship, originally called the S.S. George Law, was a United States mail steamship. In 1857 it sank off the coast of the Carolinas because of a huge hurricane. It was a three-mast, side-wheel steamship that traveled between Panama and New York. The journey took approximately 21 days. In the five years prior to its sinking, it has been estimated that the Central America carried about $150 million worth of gold or one-third of all of the gold mined in California. The ship was 272 feet long and had 578 passengers and crew on board. It also had on board over 35,000 pieces of mail and gold bars, nuggets, dust, and 5200 newly minted San Francisco gold coins. The loss of the Central America triggered the Panic of 1857, which was actually caused by bank instability and generally poor economic conditions.

In 1985, the Columbus-America Discovery Group raised ten million dollars and began to search for the wreck. They found it at a depth of 8,500 feet off the coast of South Carolina. It is estimated that the total coins, ingots, and gold bars were worth more than one hundred million dollars.

The 1856-S double eagle with its S.S. Central America provenance is the No Serif, Left S variety. In its population report, PCGS shows 16 in MS64 with 7 better. CAC shows this coin tied for best with two others. If collector interest in shipwrecked gold or double eagles increases only slightly, this coin will jump ahead in value.