Certified $20 Gold Liberty 1853 AU50 NGC

This is a very nice 1853 $20 Liberty Double Eagle gold coin. It has been graded as About Uncirculated – 50 by the Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC), one of the three most popular and most respected grading services in the world. James B. Longacre designed the new denomination coin and in 1849 one example was struck, which now resides in the Smithsonian Institution’s national coin collection. Longacre was inspired by the design created by the previous US Mint Chief Engraver, Christian Gobrecht, who created a Liberty Head design. Longacre’s design depicted a more mature allegorical representation of Miss Liberty. She faced to the left and the large portrait on the obverse faced to the left. The date of striking is below the portrait on the lower periphery, while thirteen six-pointed stars surround the portrait around the periphery. The reverse depicts a large heraldic-style eagle with outstretched wings, arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other. An oval of thirteen stars are above the eagle and around the upper periphery is “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” and the denomination is displayed on the lower periphery as “TWENTY D.” This is a nice coin, in high circulated grade and 1,261.326 was the total mintage for that year.