LIBERTY
HEAD (WITH MOTTO ON REVERSE) TWENTY DOLLARS
TYPE III DOUBLE EAGLE (1877-1907)
"TWENTY DOLLARS"
ON REVERSE (1877-1907)
Longacre’s
Liberty Head Type 3 Double Eagle (1877-1907): The
design change that brought about the Type 3 Double Eagle
was the denomination. It went from TWENTY D. to TWENTY DOLLARS.
Like the addition of the motto to the reverse of the previous
Double Eagle, it did not cause any major change in the rest
of the coin’s design. William Barber who by then was
the Engraver following Longacre’s death in 1869 made
the modification. Later, his son Charles further modified
the reverse of the Double Eagle by smoothing the back of
the eagle’s neck. Many of the twentieth century Double
Eagle Coins have the new reverse, but some were made from
left over hubs and have the 1899 reverse.
During this time period
there were extremes of coin mintage. There were several
years that saw Double Eagles’ mintages of over a million
and even two million coins. However, the largest was 1904,
which had a mintage of 6,256,699. Many of these were saved
in European banks and are available in quantity today. On
the other hand, there were great rarities created by low
mintages. In 1886 there were only 1,000 coins minted, and
that was the third lowest. The years 1885 and 1882 saw 751
and 571 respectively. Of course authentication is required
for these rarities because the S mint mark could easily
be removed from the common dates of 1885-S and the 1882-S.
Common
in VF to AU grades; available in lower Mint State grades;
the finest certified are 2 in MS64; also seen with prooflike
surfaces. Approximately 11 proofs known in all grades.
Available in VF to AU condition; rare in Mint State;
the finest certified are 11 in MS62 condition; also
seen with prooflike surfaces. 1877-CC
$20 NGC AU58
Common
in grades up to MS61; rare in MS63 and above; the finest
certified are 12 in MS64; also seen with prooflike surfaces;
a doubled die and quadrupled die reverse are also known.
Approximately 9 proofs known in all grades.
Available
in grades up to MS61; rare above MS62; the finest certified
are 3 in MS65; also seen with prooflike surfaces; also
seen with a doubled die reverse. Approximately 11 proofs
known in all grades.
Scarce
in all grades; rare above MS61; the finest certified
are 7 in MS63; also seen with prooflike surfaces. Approximately
11 proofs known in all grades.
Extremely
low mintage issue; approximately 50 are known in all
grades; only 5 have been certified Mint State, of which
4 are the finest at MS61. Approximately 19 proofs known
in all grades.
Lowest
mintage regular double eagle and one of the lowest mintage
gold coins; approximately 30 are known in all grades;
29 have been certified by both services; the finest
certified is a single MS62 example; also seen with prooflike
surfaces. Approximately 15 proofs known in all grades.
Extremely
low mintage coin; rare in all grades; fewer than 100
known; the finest certified are 2 in MS63; also seen
with prooflike surfaces. Approximately 17 proofs known
in all grades.
Very
low mintage; rare in all grades; only approximately
50 known; only 5 certified in Mint State, the finest
of which is a single MS65 example. Approximately 22
proofs known in all grades.
Common in VF to MS62; rare in higher Mint State grades;
the finest certified are 4 in MS65 condition. Also seen
with doubled die reverse. Approximately 27 proofs known
in all grades.
Common
in grades up to MS62; rare in higher Mint State grades;
the finest certified is a single MS66 example; also
seen with prooflike surfaces. Approximately 15 proofs
known in all grades.
Low
mintage; rare date; approximately 100 known in all grades;
10 have been certified Mint State, the finest of which
is a single MS64 example. Approximately 24 proofs known
in all grades.
Low
mintage; scarce in all grades; only 270 certified in
all grades; the finest certified is a single MS68 example;
also seen with prooflike surfaces. Approximately 26
proofs known in all grades.
Common
in grades from VG to MS63; scarce in MS64; the finest
certified is a single MS67 example; also seen with prooflike
surfaces. Approximately 17 proofs known in all grades.
Common
in grades up to MS63; the finest certified is a single
MS67 example; also seen with prooflike surfaces. Approximately
21 proofs known in all grades.
Common
in grades up to MS63; the finest certified are 2 in
MS67; also seen with prooflike surfaces; also found
with 1896/1896 doubled date. Approximately 45 proofs
known in all grades.
Common
in grades up to MS64; scarce in MS65; the finest certified
are 2 in MS66; also seen with prooflike surfaces. Approximately
35 proofs known in all grades.
Very
common in grades up to MS64; available in MS65; the
finest certified are 7 in MS66; also seen with prooflike
surfaces. Approximately 55-60 proofs known in all grades.
Common
in grades up to MS65; the finest certified are 4 in
MS66 condition; also seen with prooflike surfaces. Approximately
45 proofs known in all grades.
Lowest
20th century mintage; available in grades up to MS62;
only 11 certified above MS63; the finest certified is
a single MS66 example. Approximately 45 proofs known
in all grades. 1902
$20 PCGS MS63
Common
in grades up to MS65; available in MS66; the finest
certified are 3 in MS67; also seen with prooflike surfaces.
Approximately 60 proofs known in all grades.
Available
in grades up to MS62; rare in higher Mint State grades;
the finest certified is a single MS65 example. Approximately
42 proofs known in all grades.
Common
in grades up to MS64; the finest certified is a single
MS65+ example; also seen with prooflike surfaces. Approximately
50 proofs known in all grades.
