Liberty Head Double Eagle
THE $20 GOLD COIN OF THE GILDED AGE, 1880 TO 1907
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- 1881$145,000–$195,000
- 1882$295,000–$405,000
- 1882-CC$88,000–$120,000
- 1885$210,000–$290,000
- 1885-CC$145,000–$195,000
Prices are MS-63 estimates, Oct 2026. A photograph appears below where we hold a public-domain photo of that exact date and mint; other issues show a medallion here, and their page shows the nearest type coin, labelled.
1880s
21 issues1890s
24 issues1900s
18 issuesNo issues match those filters.
Soon
In preparationValues are Lustre editorial estimate, Oct 2026, not market data. Medallions stand in for issues without a photograph of that exact date; each value page shows a labelled type coin. How we estimate.
The Liberty Head Double Eagle, in brief
The Liberty Head double eagle (also called the Coronet double eagle) was struck for commerce from 1850 to 1907. James B. Longacre designed the coronet Liberty head and the heraldic eagle reverse. This catalogue covers 1880 to 1907, the Type III design with TWENTY DOLLARS on the reverse, struck at Philadelphia, San Francisco, Carson City and, in 1906 and 1907, Denver. Each coin is 90% gold and holds 0.9675 troy ounce, so the melt value is the floor for every date. Earlier dates (1850 to 1879) are not in this catalogue yet, and 1883, 1884 and 1887 Philadelphia are Proof-only years with no business strikes.
Common Liberty double eagles, such as most San Francisco dates and 1904, trade close to gold value in circulated grades. The premiums sit with the tiny Philadelphia dates of the early 1880s and 1891 to 1892, the Carson City issues, and the low-mintage years of the 1900s.
- Designer
- James B. Longacre
- Composition
- 90% gold, 10% copper
- Mint marks
- Philadelphia, San Francisco, Carson City, Denver
- Key dates
- 1881, 1882, 1882-CC, 1885
Liberty Head double eagle, Wikipedia: composition, weight, diameter, edge, designer, mint mark position, gold content (0.96750 oz); cross-check that Philadelphia struck only 4,521 double eagles for circulation in 1881 to 1887; proof-only years. Wikipedia lists a mass of 33.431 g; Lustre uses the statutory 33.436 g (516 grains), which matches 0.96750 oz of gold at 90%.
$20 Liberty Head Double Eagle: 1849-1907, Type Set Coin Collecting (typesets.wikidot.com, CC BY-SA): mintage and proof mintage by year and mint.
PCGS CoinFacts date pages (mintage cross-check only), PCGS: cross-check of a few mintage figures (1880 and 1884-CC $20, 1880 $5, 1884 proofs); no prices used.
Lustre editorial grade-value estimates, Lustre: grade value ranges (estimates, not market data).
gold-api.com spot prices (reference level for estimates), gold-api.com: reference spot prices behind the estimates.