LIBERTY
HEAD (NO MOTTO ON REVERSE) TWENTY DOLLARS OR DOUBLE EAGLE
(1849-1866)
1855 Double Eagle
1855
Double Eagle or $20 Gold
PCGS
No:
8914
Circulation
strikes Mintage:
364,666
Proofs:
Unknown
Designer:
James Barton
Longacre
Diameter:
±34
millimeters
Metal
content:
Gold - 90%
Other - 10%
Weight:
±516
grains (±33.4 grams)
Edge:
Reeded
Mintmark:
None (for Philadelphia,
PA) below the eagle's tail on the reverse.
Introduction:
Low-grade examples of the 1855 double eagle are fairly
common. The issue becomes increasingly rare in high-grade
condition. There were examples of the date found on
the S.S. Central America and S.S. Republic. Most of
these were Extremely Fine or About Uncirculated, but
a few were on the low end of the Mint State scale.
The 1855 double eagle is a true condition rarity.
Nearly all of the known coins for the date are low
grade. It has been reported that an MS-63 example
sold for $44,000 in the summer of 2004.
Key to Collecting:
The 1855 Philadelphia Mint double eagle is fairly
scarce in all grades. Most are VF or EF, less often
AU.
Aspects of Striking: Usually sharp. Die cracks
are not uncommon.
Die Data: 1855 four-digit
date logotype with 1 and 8 close, 85 slightly farther
apart, 55 even farther apart. Top interior of 8 is
slightly smaller than bottom interior; italic 5's;
bottoms of 5's slightly lower than bottoms of 18.
Used on all dies for all mints. Multiple die pairs
were used. Logotype position variations exist as do
variations as to the depdi or shallowness of the date.
Number of Appearances:
88 (20%)
High Grade Condition Points: 43
Average Grade: VF-38
Auction Records: (14) Unc: Stack's 9/81; New England
7/80; Stack's 9/77; ANA 1976; Stack's 4/76; Paramount
5/75; Davies/Niewoehner 1975; AAA 11/74; Alto 1970;
Stack's 10/70; Ward 1964; Cicero 1960; WGC 1946; Bell
1944
(15) AU:
Auction '80; Numisco 5/80; Stack's 6/79; New England
3/79; B&R 4/78; Stack's 6/77, 6/74; Scanlon 1973;
Stack's 4/71, 6/70, 2/70; Miles 1968; Stack's 10/66;
Walton 1963; Holmes I960
(30) EF:
Coin Galleries 6/80; Stack's 3/80, 10/79, 9/79 (2);
Auction '79 (2); Stack's 2/ 79; Kagin's 9/78; Stack's
6/ 78; Ivy 1 / 78; R ARCOA 1 / 78; Stack's 9/ 77;
New England 7/77; Stack's 2/77; ANA 1976 (2); Stack's
9/75; Pine Tree 6/75 (2); ANA 1974; Stack's 1/70;
Paramount 11/69; Stack's 3/69, 5/68; Bolt 1966; Kosoff
10/65; Bell 1963; Wolfson 1962; Roach 1944
(29) VF:
New England 11/80; B&R 1/80; Stack's 12/79; NASCA
10/79; Superior 2/78; ANA 1976; ANA 1975; Stack's
4/30/75; Superior 10/74; Stack's 2/74; Gilhousen 1973;
Kreisberg/Cohen 9/71; ANA 1971; Kreisberg/Cohen 11/70;
ANA 1968; Shuford 1968; Stack's 4/67; Kosoff 10/65;
FUN 1963; Golden 1963, 1962; Cicero 1960; Melish 1956(2);
Smith 1955; Farouk 1954; Menjou 1950; Lee 1947; Atwater
1946
Comments: The 1855 is quite scarce in any condition
and in mint state it is definitely rare. Overall,
it is similar in rarity to the 1856, 1857, 1858, 1863
and 1864 among Type I Double Eagles. I have seen several
uncs that I would call choice (63) but I have never
seen one that would qualify as a gem by today's standards,
nor have I ever heard of one. The typically available
specimen is VF or EF and all the examples of this
date that I've seen were frosty. No proofs of this
date have even been reported and it is doubtful if
any were minted.
1855
HISTORICAL HIGHTLIGHTS
New York City,
Feb. 6. Anti-Slavery Soeietv hears Ralph
Waldo Emerson estimate that $200 million would be
enough to buy every slave's freedom. Washington, D.C., March 3. Congress
agrees to Secretary of War Jefferson Davis's plan
to import Egyptian camels to Southwest at cost of
$30.000. Massachusetts, Apr. 28. Segregation
banned in all schools. New York City, May 9. Brownhelm County,
Ohio, clerk John Mercer Langston, first Negro elected
to public office in United States, addresses American
Anti-Slavery Society. Kansas, August. John Brown joins
his sons and becomes leader of local militia (-»
Aug. 30, 1856). Seattle, Washington, Sept. 28. Puget
Sound Anti-Chinese Congress decides to frighten Chinese
into leaving state; (many do depart] (-• Nov.
3). Tacoma, Washington, Nov. 3. Led by
mayor, sheriff and deputies, a mob travels through
Chinese district. throwing Chinese out of town (-9). Tacoma, Washington, Nov. 9.U.S. troops
arrive to arrest residents who were involved in expulsion
of Chinese. California. Firsl lighthouse on Pacific
Ocean is built off coast of San Diego. Nevrtown Creek, New York. Dr. Abraham
Gesner makes kerosene from raw petroleum; promotes
it as patent medicine. Watertown, Wisconsin. First kindergarten
in United States, though German-speaking, founded
by Mrs. Carl Schurz. Salt Lake City. Brigham Young proclaims
thai a single drop of Negro blood renders a man unfit
to enter Mormon priesthood. United States. American Telegraph
Co. formed to transmit messages in Eastern states. United States. Frank Leslie's Illustrated
Newspaper begun. New York City. In seven years since
its printing. Stephen Foster's Cantpiown Races has
earned him only $101.25. New York City. My Bondage. My Freedom
published by ex-slave and abolitionistFrederick
Douglass.
