The 19 different Liberty Head double eagles struck at the Carson City mint between 1870 and 1893 form one of the most popular series in American numismatics.
Imagine, if you will, that the coin market is a sushi bar. You look in the cases and you see the familiar fish: salmon, albacore, mackerel, and regular tuna. Off in the corner, in a special case there is the prized (and pricey) fatty tuna (or Toro) wrapped in special paper and brought out for special customers only. That fish, in our Numismatic Sushi Bar, is Proof Gold: rare, unusual, and very expensive.
The New Orleans mint produced Liberty Head half eagles from 1840 through 1857 and again from 1892 through 1894. There were a total of 16 different issues constituting three distinct types.
Of the four denominations struck at the Dahlonega mint, half eagles are the largest in size and have—by far—the most struck; both in terms of individual dates and total produced. This denomination was made from 1838 through 1861, and there were a total of 26 issues.
The San Francisco mint opened in 1854 and it made gold coins up through 1930. I have seen more interest in San Francisco gold coinage in the last five-ten years than I have at any other time in my numismatic career, and I feel that San Francisco gold coinage is an especially fascinating segment of the market.
Type Two double eagles are not as popular as their Type One and Type Three counterparts. The reasons for this are not exactly clear, as Type Two issues are very collectable as this article will show.
I can make a strong case for half eagles as the most compelling of the many Liberty Head denominations. There are many interesting ways to collect these coins which we will discuss in this article.
