1863 Double Eagle - 1863 $20 PCGS MS62. This rare, Civil War dated, Mint State, 1863 Double Eagle is well struck with full details seen on the centers of the stars and the design details of the reverse. No wear is found, as expected for a Mint State coin, and the surfaces of this 1863 Double Eagle are original, clean, and, for the grade, free of abrasions worthy of individual description. This 1863 Double Eagle is a mixture of yellow-gold and rose-gold with the latter more prominent on the central devices and the former more visible on the fields. Original, subdued mint luster is amply present on both sides of the piece.

James B. Longacre designed the double eagle. The obverse 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 third year of the Civil War saw production of the cent, the three-cent silver, the half dime, the dime, the quarter, the half dollar, the silver dollar, the gold dollar, the quarter eagle in proof only, the three-dollar gold piece, the half eagle, the eagle, and the double eagle.

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.

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 dollar, the three dollar gold piece, and the Liberty Head double eagle.

The 1863 Double Eagle is a scarce coin in any grade. The shipwreck of the S.S. Brother Jonathan had none, and the ill-fated S.S. Republic had only 35 1863 Double Eagle pieces. In Mint State only a few are known. The present 1863 Double Eagle coin is tied for third finest at PCGS and second finest at NGC. In its population report, PCGS shows 7 1863 Double Eagles  in MS62 condition with 3 better. NGC shows 6 with 2 better, and these numbers do not account for crossovers or resubmissions.