Type One Liberty Head eagles were made for circulation from 1850 through 1866 at the Philadelphia, New Orleans, and San Francisco mints. Including the enigmatic Paquet reverse designs from Philadelphia and San Francisco, there are a total of 46 issues, as follows:

PHILADELPHIA: 1850-1865; a total of 20 issues with the following varieties:

1853: regular date and so-called 1853/’2’ overdate
1854: small date and large date
1861: regular issue and Paquet reverse

NEW ORLEANS: 1850-1861; a total of 12 issues with no major varieties

SAN FRANCISCO: 1854-1866; a total of 14 issues with the following varieties:

1861: regular issue and Paquet reverse

Type One issues run the gamut from extremely common to extremely rare. Nearly every issue (other than the 1856-S, 1857-S and 1861) is rare in any Uncirculated grade higher than MS62 and a number of issues are nearly impossible to locate in any Uncirculated grade.

It is not easy to choose the “best” dozen individual issues from this type as there are a number of very important coins known. I’ve decided to focus on business strikes (any Type One double eagle Proof is very rare) and on coins which aren’t from shipwrecks. Even still, it was difficult to name just a dozen individual coins. It is likely that I will revisit this topic in the near future and write on a second dozen great Type One twenties.

1. 1850 PCGS MS65

*1850 $20.00 PCGS MS65, image courtesy of PCGS*

This coin isn’t one of my favorite pieces on this list due to its quality for the assigned grade. While I like the coin a lot, I don’t think it’s a full-blown Gem. But this coin is very important for what it represents: the single highest graded example of this popular first-year-of-issue Type One double eagle.

I first saw this coin when it sold for $161,000 as an NGC MS65 in the Heritage 2007 FUN auction. It crossed to a PCGS MS65 within the last few years, and it is clearly among the more desirable type coins of this design.

Interestingly, there is an 1850 double eagle (which I have viewed in-person through a glass display case) which is finer than this coin. It is in the Vienna Kunsthistoriches Museum and I graded it MS65++ when I saw it in 2018.

2. 1851-O PCGS MS63 and 1852-O NGC MS65

There are a number of important New Orleans double eagles which I’m not going to put on this list because while they are the finest known for a specific date, they are coins which appeal mostly to specialists. The following two coins, which I am entering as a “2A and 2B” duo, are condition rarities with greater appeal to a broad range of collectors.

The 1851-O graded MS63 by PCGS, is a coin that I purchased for $99,875 as Goldberg 6/16: 1641. It is almost certainly from the Baltimore Find of 1934 and it is among the cleanest, most vibrant New Orleans double eagles of any date that I have seen.

*1852-O $20.00 NGC MS65, courtesy of Heritage*

The 1852-O graded MS65 by NGC is a legendary coin in the Type One series. It last sold for $300,000 as Heritage 2018 ANA: 5296 and before this it brought $276,000 in the Heritage 2011 FUN sale. The coin was owned by Henry Miller (the New York collector, not the novelist) and it is likely the single best New Orleans double eagle in existence, from the standpoint of technical grade and appearance.

3. 1853-O PCGS/CAC MS63

This coin is not as well-known as the two New Orleans double eagles listed above but this is due to the fact that it has never appeared at public auction.

*1853-O $20.00 PCGS MS63 CAC, courtesy of PCGS*

The 1853-O is a reasonably common date in grades through AU55 but it is rare in properly graded AU58, and possibly unique in Uncirculated. This specific example was originally in the Dr. William Crawford Collection and it was obtained by collector DL Hansen when he purchased the AWA Collection of Liberty Head double eagles.

This isn’t the most valuable double eagle from New Orleans, but it is likely my favorite as it represents superb quality for the issue.

4. 1854 Small Date PCGS/CAC MS65+

The 1854 Small Date is the more common of the two major varieties of double eagle struck in Philadelphia during this year. It is moderately scarce in the lowest Uncirculated grades, but rare in MS63, very rare in MS64, and likely unique as a Gem.

*1854 Small Date $20.00 PCGS MS65+ CAC, courtesy of PCGS*

This is another coin which was part of the Crawford Collection. It is my opinion that this was among the greatest specialized sets of US gold coins ever assembled, and it is a shame that it isn’t better known.

I’ve never seen a finer 1854 Small Date $20, and this is one of the very best non-shipwreck Type Ones currently known.

5. 1855 PCGS/CAC MS65+

Here is yet another coin which originates from the Crawford Collection and which is the finest known for the date by a mile. It was purchased for $126,500 as Lot 1704 in the March 2006 ANR auction.

*1855 $20.00 PCGS MS65+ CAC, courtesy of PCGS*

Funny story… I was underbidder on this coin and I stretched (and stretched and stretched…) but Bill Crawford just wasn’t going to go home without it. I was bidding for a great client of mine; someone who I’ve subsequently sold millions of dollars’ worth of important coins to. Yet not a year goes by that he doesn’t call me up and wistfully go “we should have bought that darn 1855 double eagle.” And it’s hard to argue with him, especially after seeing this coin gradeflate from MS64 to MS65 and finally to MS65+ (just so you know, I grade this coin a strong MS65 by current standards).

6. 1856-O PCGS SP63

Is it a Proof or isn’t it a Proof? I’ve gone back and forth for years trying to determine the status of this coin.
The last time I saw it, I was 100% certain that the method of manufacture was “special.” But then I saw the Crawford PCGS AU58+ 1856-O double eagle and noted it was pretty reflective so maybe all the known pieces were, at one time, similarly reflective. As of 2020, I feel pretty comfortable calling this coin a Specimen Strike but not a full-on Branch Mint Proof. If you compare it to the Proof 1844-O half eagle and eagle, it clearly isn’t as well-made and as deeply reflective. It is still one hell of a coin!

This back and forth over analysis obscures the fact that this 1856-O is, by far, the single best New Orleans double eagle of any date or type and a strong case can be made for calling it the second most valuable Type One double eagle after the PCGS/CAC MS67 1861 Paquet.

7. 1857-O PCGS/CAC MS63

This is among my favorite New Orleans double eagles of any date and it remains the finest known. I was outbid by Bill Crawford for it when it sold in the Bass auction (in 1999) for $97,750 and it now resides in the DL Hansen Collection.

*1857-O $20.00 PCGS MS63 CAC, courtesy PCGS*

I’d suggest you study the image I’ve included as this coin, in my opinion, represents the perfect coin for the grade and for the date. This coin has dynamic eye appeal as a result of its superior luster and its very choice surfaces.

8. 1861 PCGS/CAC MS67

Until the discovery of the S.S. Central America, this specific coin was the single finest regular issue Type One double eagle of any date. The coin first appeared for sale in a December 1958 New Netherlands auction but the market wasn’t concerned, at this time, with coins on this sort. Three decades later it was offered as Lot 5039 in the Superior October 1989 auction (where it sold for a strong $181,500), and a year later it realized $170,500 in Auction ’90. It next appeared in Superior’s May 1991 auction where it brought only $68,750. It then sold for $96,800 in the Heritage 1995 ANA auction, and it last sold at auction for $352,500 in the Stack’s Bowers 2013 ANA. You can trace the strength and weakness of the coin market from 1989 through 2013 by looking at these prices!

*1861 $20.00 PCGS MS67 CAC, courtesy of PCGS*

Clearly, this coin was given special care and it must have been saved immediately after it was struck. It is almost entirely free of abrasions and it has sensational rich orange-gold color. While this is certainly a common date, there is nothing ordinary about it and I would rank this as one of my all-time favorite US gold coins.

9. 1861 Paquet PCGS MS67

There are just two examples of this experimental issue known. It has the regular obverse combined with the Paquet reverse which is seen more regularly on San Francisco double eagles dated 1861. It is believed that this reverse was created by Anthony Paquet in order to replace the Longacre design which easily showed wear and which was often not as sharply struck as Mint officials would have liked. A limited number were made in Philadelphia and nearly all were melted, save for two: this superb Gem and an MS61 which I purchased in 2014 for $1,645,000.

*1861 Paquet $20.00 PCGS MS67, courtesy of PCGS*

The finer of the two is a remarkable Superb Gem with a pedigree which dates back to 1865. It is best known as being from the Norweb Collection where it resided from 1954 through 1988; selling in November of that year for $660,000. It is currently owned by an Eastern dealer.

This coin is clearly the most valuable Liberty Head double eagle in existence and a strong case can be made for calling it among the most important—and valuable—United States coins of any date or denomination.

10. 1862 NGC MS64

This is among the least well known coins in this group of a dozen rarities but it is the finest known example of the rarest Type One double eagle from Philadelphia. It sold only once, bringing $62,100 when it was offered as Lot 2459 in the Heritage 11/2005 auction.

I am aware of just one or two examples of this date in MS63, and one of these recently sold for $78,000 in the Heritage August 2020 auction.

This coin is owned by a New England collector.

11. 1863 PCGS/CAC MS64

The 1863 is another scarce Civil War double eagle although it is more available than the 1862. The 1863 is sometimes seen in the lowest Uncirculated grades but it is extremely scarce in MS62, very rare in MS63, and unique in MS64.

*1863 $20.00 PCGS MS64 CAC, courtesy of PCGS*

The unquestionable finest known business strike 1863 double eagle is an MS64 in the Hansen Collection which was originally in the Bill Crawford Collection. It is a borderline Gem with extremely nice surfaces and lovely rich orange-gold color.

12. 1866-S No Motto PCGS MS62, ex Saddle Ridge

The 1866-S is the second rarest Type One double eagle from San Francisco after the 1861-S Paquet. It is usually see well-worn and with heavily abraded surfaces. It is very rare in Uncirculated with just three or four known in Uncirculated. The best of these are two coins graded MS62, the finer of which was part of the Saddle Ridge Hoard.

*1866-S No Motto $20.00 PCGS MS62, Saddle Ridge Hoard, courtesy of PCGS*

While this coin has been conserved and it is a little bit bright as a result, it has exceptional luster and detail for the issue. It has very few marks and excellent overall eye appeal for the issue.

I’d like your input on the greatest Type One double eagles and invite you to comment in the space below.