1893 Liberty Head Double Eagle

1893 Liberty Head double eagles were made in decent quantities, with more than 1.3 million struck across the Philadelphia, Carson City, and San Francisco mints. The San Francisco mint struck the most $20 gold coins that year, but Philadelphia also struck a respectable quantity, with Carson City producing a small but significant number of double eagles in 1893.

Here is a breakdown of the mintages and values of 1893 double eagle gold coins:

• 1893, 344,280; $2,987

• 1893-CC, 18,402; $4,209

• 1893-S, 996,175; $2,987

• 1893 proof, 59; $95,000

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

Remember, the existing populations of 1893 double eagles today are much lower than the mintage figures above may suggest. This is due to melting and other attrition factors, and in many cases only a tiny fraction of issues from any one date may survive today versus the number of coins for a given issue that was originally produced.

Given the relative scarceness of pre-1933 gold coins in general, it makes sense from the buyer’s viewpoint to buy only 1893 double eagles that have been authenticated and certified by reputable third-party coin grading firms. These include the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), the American Numismatic Association Certification Service (ANACS), and the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC).