LIBERTY
HEAD (NO MOTTO ON REVERSE) TWENTY DOLLARS OR DOUBLE EAGLE
(1849-1866)
1856 Double Eagle
1856
Double Eagle or $20 Gold
PCGS
No:
8917
Circulation
strikes Mintage:
329,878
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:
The 1856 double eagle is much more difficult to locate
than many of the other Philadelphia double eagles
of the 1850s. The production for the year was widely
distributed, and nearly all of the coins known are
low grade. The S.S. Central America and S.S. Republic
held relatively few examples. The 1856 double eagle
is very rare in full Mint State. Just a couple of
coins have been certified as choice. The finest example
the authors have seen is a PCGS MS-63 specimen that
sold at the 1997 ANA Convention sale for $17,825.
The coin would bring much more today.
Key to Collecting:
The 1856 double eagle is scarcer than generally realized.
However, there are enough on hand that the specialist
will have no trouble picking up a piece in the usual
grades for this decade, VF and EF. Finer examples
are elusive, and attractive Mint State coins are great
rarities. There is not even a whisper of Proofs having
been struck.
Aspects of Striking: Usually well struck.
Die Data: 1856 four-digit
date logotype with 1 and 8 close, 85 slightly farther
apart, 56 even farther apart. Top interior of 8 is
slightly smaller than bottom interior; upright 5 (with
upright part of digit not even slightly slanted; first
such form of the decade); flag of 5 short, thick on
left side; 6 slightly low and heavy. Used on all dies
for all mints. 10 pairs of dies were prepared, but
it is believed that not all were used.
Number of Appearances:
71 (16%)
High Grade Condition Points: 43
Average Grade: VF-39
Auction Records: (17) Unc: Auction '81; New England
7/80; ANA 1979; Stack's 2/79, 6/77; NASCA 12/76; ANA
1976; New England 3/76; Pine Tree 6/75; AAA 11/74;
ANA 1974; AAA 5/74; Shapero 1971; Stack's 10/70; Holmes
1960; Menjou 1950; Bell 1944
(9) AU:
Stack's 9/81, 9/79; New England 11/77, 7/77; Scanlon
1973; ANA 1971; Stack's 6/70; DiBello 1970; Miles
1968
(21) EF: Stack's 2/80; Superior I/80;
Stack's 12/79 (2); NASCA 10/79; Stack's 10/79, 9/79,
6/79; New England 3/79; B&R 2/79; Stack's 2/77;
B&R 2/77; Superior 10/74; Stack's 6/74; Gilhousen
1973; Kreisberg/Cohen 11/70; Merkin 3/69; Stack's
5/68; Bolt 1966; Bell 1963; Smith 1955
(21) VF: Auction '80; Stack's 2/80;
ANA 1975; Pine Tree 6/75; ANA 1974; Kreisberg/ Cohen
9/71; Stack's 4/71; Shuford 1968; Stack's 4/67, 10/66;
Kosoff 10/65; Paramount 2/65; ANA 1964; Wolfson 1962;
Golden 1962; Cicero 1960; Baldenhofer 1955; Farouk
1954; MC 1948; WGC 1946; Roach 1944
Comments: The 1856 Double Eagle is a very elusive date,
generally obtainable only in VF or EF condition. In
AU it is very scarce and in Uncirculated 60 or better
condition it is rare. Locating a choice or gem quality
unc would be a very difficult task indeed and I have
seen only a couple at those levels. As is the case
with a number of the $20 issues from the mid-1850's,
particularly the S-Mints, "saltwater uncs"
are occasionally available (cf 1974 ANA). Among Type
I Double Eagles from the Philadelphia Mint, the 1856
is comparable in overall rarity to the 1855, 1857,
1858, 1863 and 1864 although it is a little easier
to locate in Unc. than the latter four dates, particularly
the 1863 and 1864 which are all but unobtainable in
mint state. No proofs are known nor has one ever been
reliably reported in the past. Whether any were minted
is not known.
1856
HISTORICAL HIGHTLIGHTS
Oregon Territory,
Feb. 22. Indians kill father and sons while
holding mother and daughter captive: Geisel Family
Massacre enrages settlers California, Feb. 22. First railroad
in slate links Sacramento and Folsom. Boston, March 26. Operation of first
steam trains in New England begins. United States, Apr. 1. Western Union
Telegraph formed to handle Western telegraphic communication. Texas. Apr. 29. First camels purchased
by U.S. Army for experimental duly in Texas arrive
(--June 16, IS57). San Francisco, May 15. Politician
James Casey lynched after murdering James King, crusading
reformist editor. Kansas Territory. May 21. Lawrence
looted and sacked by pro-slavery forces; one man killed
(-Aug. 30). Bloomington, Illinois, May 29. In
a speech. Abraham Lincoln says. "You can fool
some of the people all of the time, and all of the
people some of the lime, hut you can't fool all of
the people all of the time." Boston, May. Emulating large European
music festivals, first American festival consists
of a chorus of 600 and an orchestra of 78. Cincinnati, June 6. Democrats end
week-long national convention, nominating James Buchanan
for president and John C. Breckinridgc for vice president
(~*Nov. 4) Illinois. Sept. 21. Illinois Central
Railroad completed between Chicago and Cairo: longest
in country with 700 miles of track. Chicago. Railroad companies employ
telegraph to aid engineers and operators. Terre Haute. Indiana. T.T. Woodruff
patents three-tiered berth railroad car; Andrew Carnegie
is principal investor. Richmond, Virginia. Editorial in
Examiner is first to warn that fundamental social
and economic differences between North and South may
lead to civil conflict. New York City. Freeman Hunt, author
of Wealth ami Wurth, predicts that business will become
a form of culture.
