1861 Double Eagle - 1861 $20 NGC AU53 CAC. Type 1 Double Eagle. Here is a Type 1, Civil War-dated 1861 double eagle that comes with a CAC sticker indicating that the coin is a premium quality piece which fully merits the grade assigned. The coin has remnants of original mint luster in protected areas of both sides. Its light and dark yellow-gold colors assure its originality. Clean for the grade, the piece shows few abrasion marks; none worthy of individual description, nor are there other distractions. The coin was originally well struck because full details still remain on the centers of the stars and most of the elements of the reverse, especially the eagle.

James B. Longacre designed the double eagle. 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 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 double eagle was created because of the huge amount of gold that came in for coining as a result of the California Gold Rush. 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.

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.

Here is an opportunity to obtain an authentic, certified Civil War-time artifact that would fit nicely into any historical or numismatic collection.