1875-S Double Eagle - 1875-S $20 NGC MS61. This eye-appealing, Western branch mint, Mint State 1875-S Double Eagle gleams with bright mint luster on both sides. The strike is above average with full details on the obverse stars except for Stars 2 and 3. The reverse is well struck with full details on all the design elements. No wear is present on this Uncirculated piece, and the surfaces are original and clean for the grade with no individually distracting abrasion marks. The grade is confirmed by the CAC sticker, which indicates that the coin is a premium piece and meets stringent standards for quality within the grade.

The San Francisco Mint opened in 1854 because of the need to coin gold resulting from the California Gold Rush. In the West there was an abundance of gold bullion, nuggets and dust; however, there was also an acute shortage of circulating coinage. Congress authorized this mint to relieve the shortage and coin silver and gold and because transportation of bullion to Philadelphia was time consuming and hazardous. Because of its proximity to the Gold Rush area, San Francisco was chosen as the site of the new mint.  In 1874 it moved into a new building called the Old United States Mint or the Granite Lady. It is one of the few structures that survived the earthquake of 1906. It remained in service as a mint until 1938, when the present facility opened.

In its first year of operation the Mint made four million dollars in gold coins from bullion. The second building, the Old United States Mint, was designed by Alfred B. Mullett in Greek Revival style. It was built in an E-shape with a central pediment portico. There was a completely enclosed courtyard that had a well. It was these features that saved it in the fire that resulted from the earthquake of 1906. The building was situated on a concrete and granite foundation that was made to prevent tunneling into its vaults. In 1906 there was $300 million, a third of the United States gold reserves, in its vaults. Frank Leach and his men worked heroically to successfully preserve the building and the bullion. The mint was able to resume service and operated until 1937. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961.

Since most of the building was made of sandstone, the nickname of The Granite Lady is a misnomer. Only the basement was made from granite. It was opened to visitors in 1993 and sold to the City of San Francisco for one dollar in 2003 for use as the Museum of the City of San Francisco.

In its population report, as of June 2012, CAC shows 22 1875-S double eagles confirmed in MS61 with 15 better.