1886 Liberty Head Double Eagle

1886 Liberty Head double eagle $20 gold coins are extremely rare, as only 1,106 were ever made and many have since been melted. All 1,106 $20 gold coins dated 1886 were struck at the Philadelphia mint, with 1,000 pieces being made as business strikes and the remainder (106) struck as proofs.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the bulk of the coins minted that year have since been melted, which means a coin that would have already been considered rare if even 1,106 specimens survived is actually much scarcer still. Certainly, finding an 1886 Liberty Head double eagle is a challenging task. Auction houses and major coin dealers are where one would have the best chance of tracing down one of these rare coins and you can expect to pay $40,000 for a very fine specimen and about $135,000 for an uncirculated one.

$20 gold coins, like the 1886 double eagles, trace their roots back to 1849, when United States Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre first created the Liberty Head double eagle. That was during the time when the Gold Rush was heating up in California. 1886 $20 double eagle gold coins contain 0.9613 ounces of gold, weigh 33.44 grams, and measure 34 millimeters wide. Their relatively heavy weight and large size, along with their historical valuable, are just a few reasons double eagles remain popular with coin collectors and bullion investors today.