Certified $20 Gold Liberty 1873 Open 3 AU58 PCGS

When the Coinage Act of 1792 was passed, the largest denomination of gold coin to be struck was an Eagle, with a face value of $10.00. But when large deposits of natural gold were found in California in the late 1840s. This gold strike required that a larger denomination of gold coin was needed. So, in 1849, the new Twenty-dollar denomination gold coin, called a ‘Double Eagle,’ was struck at the Philadelphia Mint. This first series was called the “Liberty Head” due to the bust of Miss Liberty, which dominated the obverse. Designed by James B. Longacre, he simply made minor modifications to Christian Gobrecht’s “Liberty Head ” design that was currently being struck on the earlier gold coins in most denominations. The obverse of this Liberty Head Double Eagle depicts a portrait of Miss Liberty, facing to the left. Liberty is wearing a crown on her head and it is inscribed the word “LIBERTY,” across it. The reverse of this Double Eagle displays a large American Bald Eagle. The wings are upraised and outstretched and its body is covered with a patriotic shield. The eagle has an olive branch in one claw and three arrows in the other. In the eagle’s beak is a ribbon which is inscribed “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” There is a ring of 13 six-pointed stars, with the motto, “IN GOD WE TRUST.” The sun's rays are shining above the stars. “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” is on the upper field of the coin while on the lower is the denomination of “TWENTY D.” The 1873 Twenty Dollar Double Eagles were struck in two varieties - the Open 3 and the Closed 3. On the Open 3 variety, the larger ball at the lower curve of the 3 has a diameter that is about the same size as the opening and could pass through it. On the Closed 3 type, the lower ball would not pass through the smaller opening. The total mintage for this date and mint is 1,709,800 coins. This historic coin was graded coin is graded as About Uncirculated AU58 by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS).