1859-O Double Eagle (1859-O $20) NGC MS61 PL. New Orleans Mint Double Eagle. This exceedingly rare, New Orleans, mint state, proof-like 1859-O Double Eagle is what is known as an Everest coin. Only 9,100 were minted, and it is estimated that only fifty to seventy-five pieces in all grades have survived. Unlike other dates that were once considered rare but now are much more plentiful because of their discovery in treasure ships, only two examples of this date were found in the wreckage of the S.S. Republic. None were found in the S.S. Brother Jonathan, and the S.S. Yankee Blade and S.S. Central America went down before 1859. Not a trace of wear is found on this coin. The cheek is clean; the hair strands below the coronet and at the top of Libertys head are clear and fully separated. There are no bag marks that are often found on uncirculated double eagles of this era. The coin is fully lustrous, as expected for one with proof-like designation, with bright mint luster dancing off the devices and somewhat darker fields that create the proof-like effect, especially so on the reverse. The strike is sharp and bold on both sides. Every line of hair, feather, and letter is clear and easy to see.

Designed by James B. Longacre, the coin shows a handsome head of Liberty facing left, wearing a pearl-bordered coronet which is inscribed LIBERTY. It was modeled after an ancient Greco-Roman sculpture, the Crouching Venus. Thirteen six-pointed stars are around her head, and the date is below. The reverse shows the influence of Longacres training as a two-dimensional engraver. Based on the Great Seal of the United States, it has a heraldic eagle with wings spread and head facing left. A Union shield is on its breast, and it holds arrows in its left talons and an olive branch in its right, symbolizing preparedness and peace. Thirteen stars form an oval above the eagle amidst rays of Glory. The elaborate scroll on either side of it, added to symbolize the new denomination, is inscribed E PLURIBUS and UNUM. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is around the coin with the denomination written as TWENTY D. below. The mintmark is beneath the eagles tail, and dentils are around the peripheries of both sides.

The double eagle was produced because of the enormous quantity of gold that came into the Mint from California with the discovery of gold at Sutters Mill in January 1848. The California gold rush led to a huge influx of miners and others into the area. The vast amount 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. Longacre was given the task of creating the new coin, and by the end of 1849 the obverse and reverse designs had been chosen. With some adjustments, the new coinage began in March of 1850. With three exceptions, the design type remained in use until 1907. The Paquet reverse created a one-year type in 1861, the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added in 1866 to the reverse, and the denomination was changed to TWENTY DOLLARS in 1877.

The double eagle is a large coin that contains almost an ounce of gold. It became one of the most treasured United States coins and was a symbol of status, power, and wealth. In 1907 it was radically redesigned at the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt by August Saint-Gaudens.

Gold coinage was made at the New Orleans Mint from 1839 to 1906. Gold dollars were struck from 1849-1853 and in 1855. Quarter eagles were struck from 1839-1840, 1842-1843, 1845-1847, 1850-1852, and 1856-1857. A three dollar gold piece was struck in 1854. Half eagles were struck from 1840-1847, 1870-1883, 1888, 1892-1895, 1897, 1899, 1901, 1903-1904, and 1906. Double eagles were struck from 1850-1861 and in 1879.

The New Orleans Mint was authorized in 1835 by President Andrew Jackson, hero of the battle of New Orleans. The bill that Jackson signed also authorized the mints at Charlotte and Dahlonega. William Strickland, a Philadelphia architect designed all three branch mint buildings. The New Orleans Mint building was made in the solid, bulky Greek Revival style of architecture. It was the largest of the three branch mints and located at major port of entry. Unfortunately Strickland did not account for the soft ground around the site. Because of it, the building had to undergo numerous repairs throughout its history.

Authorized to produce gold and silver, the New Orleans Mint struck quarter eagles and dimes in 1839. It operated from 1838 to 1909. In that time period 427 million silver and gold coins with the O mintmark were coined. By the mid 1850s denominations made in New Orleans included three cent silver pieces, half dimes, dimes, quarters, half dollars, silver dollars, gold dollars, quarter eagles, three dollar pieces, half eagles, eagles, and double eagles. The first deposit was of Mexican dollars which amounted to more than 32,400 dollars. The first coins struck were Liberty Seated Dimes. Each year between the beginning of August and the end of November, the mint closed because of the annual outbreak of yellow fever.

During the Civil War the New Orleans Mint was held by the Confederacy and used to produce its coinage. It was the only mint to produce uniquely identifiable Confederate coinage, the 1861 half dollar with Confederate reverse and the copper-nickel cent of the same year. In 1862 the New Orleans Mint was captured by United States Marines commanded by Commodore David Farragut and closed as a minting facility. The mint reopened as an assay office in 1876. Three years later federal coinage resumed. The New Orleans Mint was the only branch mint in the South to continue coinage after the Civil War. It lasted until 1909 when it was displaced by the mints in Denver and San Francisco. From then until 1931, the New Orleans Mint building was used as an assay office. It was then converted to a prison for Prohibition violators. In 1934 the prison was closed, and the Coast Guard took possession of the building. In 1979 it was transferred to Louisiana and has been used as a museum.

James Barton Longacre was born in Pennsylvania in 1794. He became an apprentice to a bookseller and then a banknote engraver in Philadelphia. In 1819 he worked on his own as an engraver and made metal plates for bank notes and book illustrations. His works included one on stage personalities and another on the signers of the Declaration of Independence. In 1830 Longacre and James Herring made plans to do a series of biographies of famous men in the military and in politics. This project became the National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans in four volumes that was first published in 1834. This set of books brought great fame to Longacre and those who worked with him. In 1844, through the influence of John C. Calhoun, Longacre was made Chief Engraver at the Mint, where he succeeded the late Christian Gobrecht. Longacres experience was limited, but he was a talented artist. By 1849 he was able to create the gold dollar and double eagle, the design of which lasted until well into the twentieth century. One of Longacres associates, Chief Coiner Franklin Peale, opposed Longacres appointment and became an obstructionist. Peale ran a lucrative and illicit, private medal-making business using Mint facilities, and he felt that Longacres presence would jeopardize it. In 1854 Peale was fired by President Franklin Pearce, and Longacres life became easier. Longacre remained Chief Engraver until his death in 1869. Coins from Longacres estate were auctioned in 1870. They included patterns, coins of Chile, and regularly issued coins.

The early double eagles range from elusive to almost unobtainable especially in mint state grades. Branch mint pieces, particularly from New Orleans are among the great rarities of this series. Other low mintage New Orleans dates include 1854-O with 3,250 minted, 1855-O with 8,000 minted and 1856-O with 2,250. With its mintage of 9,100, the 1859-O double eagle is the fourth rarest in the series. All of these coins are rare in all grades. In mint state there are only two pieces. In mint state proof-like condition, there is only one. NGC has certified a MS61 1855-O but it is not proof-like. The best 1854-O and 1856-O pieces are certified MS58.

In its population report, NGC has certified 63 coins in non-proof-like condition for this date. The highest is MS58. They have also certified 3 in PL, an MS55, an MS58 (from the S.S. Republic), and the present, MS61. PCGS has certified 37, none in PL and only 1 at MS60. The 1859-O in mint state 61 proof-like condition, is a unique American treasure.