Certified $20 Gold Liberty 1876-S MS61 PCGS

The first $20.00 Gold Double Eagle coins were struck for circulation in 1850. They were struck in order to satisfy the demand from gold miners who mined gold in California during the gold rush. The Chief Engraver of the United States Mint at that time, James B. Longacre, was inspired and he modeled his new coin after the “Liberty Head” series of various denominations already in circulation since the late 1830’s. Those were designed by Christian Gobrecht, the Chief Engraver at that time. Longacre’s design has a large and dominant head of Miss Liberty, facing to the left with stars around the periphery and the date below. The reverse depicts a large heraldic-style eagle with wings spread, a banner with “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” on it, and an oval of 13 stars above the eagle. Inside the oval is the motto, “IN GOD WE TRUST.” As the largest gold coin struck by the United States, the Liberty Double Eagle contains .9675 of a Troy Ounce of pure gold, while the coin was struck in .900 Fine gold. This coin was struck at the storied San Francisco Mint and the mintage was 1,597,000 $20 gold coins, struck during that year. This coin has been graded as MS-61 by PCGS.