1857 Liberty Head Double Eagle

1857 Liberty Head double eagle coins were struck in the sizable quantity of 1.4 million pieces across the three mints then striking $20 gold coins: Philadelphia, New Orleans, and San Francisco, with the latter striking the bulk of that year’s output. It was common in the days of the Gold Rush for the San Francisco mint to produce the lion’s share of gold coinage, Certainly that minting facility was close to the source of the metal, and as such gold coins saw their heaviest circulation in the West.

1857 $20 double eagles weigh 33.44 grams and contain 0.9613 ounces of gold. With a diameter of 34 millimeters, Liberty Head double eagles are hefty gold coins that appeal not only to bullion investors but also coin collectors.

Here’s a rundown of the mintages and values of 1857 gold eagle coins:

• 1857, 439,375; $2,869

• 1857-O, 30,000; $6,574

• 1857-S, 970,500; $2,665

*Values are for coins in a grade of Extremely Fine 40.

1857-O double eagles are certainly the scarcest issue of the three different double eagles made that year. 1857-O $20 gold coins are quite challenging to find in any grade, but they aren’t so scarce that they can’t be tracked down with dedicated searching at coin dealers and auctions. It’s prudent to only buy rare pre-1933 gold coins in certified slabs from reputable third-party coin grading companies.