1882 Liberty Head Double Eagle

1882 Liberty Head double eagles are considerably common, with more than 1.1 million pieces having been struck from three different minting facilities; a great deal of those coins survive today. The San Francisco mint, which was geographically situated in the heart of the Gold Rush region of California, not surprisingly handled much of the coin production that year. While gold coins were mainly used in the West, they did see some decent circulation in some of the cities along the eastern seaboard. Remember, however, that $20 was a lot of money in the 1880s.

Here is a breakdown of the mintages and values of 1882 double eagle gold coins:

• 1882, 571; $30,000

• 1882-CC, 39,140; $4,137

• 1882-S, 1,125,000; $2,936

• 1882 proof, 59; $250,000

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

1882 $20 double eagle gold coins weigh 33.44 grams, contain 0.9613 ounces of gold, and measure 34 millimeters wide. The $20 gold coin’s hefty weight and sizable diameter are just two reasons the double eagle remains popular with both numismatists and coin collectors today.

James B. Longacre, who served as the Chief Engraver of the United States Mint from 1844 through 1869, originally designed the Liberty Head double eagle in 1849. He also designed several other popular coins, including the Indian Head penny and 2 Cent coin.