LIBERTY
HEAD (NO MOTTO ON REVERSE) TWENTY DOLLARS OR DOUBLE EAGLE
(1849-1866)
1859 Double Eagle
1859
Double Eagle or $20 Gold
PCGS
No:
8926, 9071
Circulation
strikes Mintage:
43,597
Proofs:
80
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,
Pennsylvania) below the eagle's tail on the reverse.
Introduction:
The 1859 Double Eagle issue has one of the lowest
mintages of any Type 1 double eagle from the Philadelphia
Mint. Also, the issue was largely ignored by early
collectors who preferred Proof examples of Philadelphia
coinage. As a result, the 1859 double eagle is very
scarce in any grade. Most examples are in no better
condition than Very Fine or Extremely Fine. A number
of coins have been offered as About Uncirculated at
auction in the last decade, but most of these were
on the lower end of that scale. A good indication
of the coin's rarity is illustrated by the fact that
only two examples were found on the S.S. Republic,
both of which are AU-58. The Smithsonian lacks this
date in circulation-strike format. The finest coin
graded at the MS-62 level, and it has been reported
that it sold for $55,000 in early 2005.
Key to Collecting:
The 1859 double eagle is scarce in all grades. Years
ago most pieces in auction offerings were listed as
VT or EF. Today, certified AU coins are seen with
some frequency. Mint State coins are so rare as to
be virtually unobtainable, and none of the "name"
collections of generations ago had one. Although only
a handful of Proofs are known to exist, as collections
are formed and sold the coins re-enter the market.
Accordingly, there have been several dozen auction
appearances over a long span of years, but the number
01 different specimens is far lower.
Aspects of Striking:
Coins from the new obverse hub utilized beginning
this year (see introduction to the Type 1 series)
show less detail than do those of 1850-1858. This
rule carries through to die end of the type.
Die Data: 1859 four-digit
date logotype in short numerals, widely and more or
less evenly spaced, the 1 and 8 being very slighdy
closer. Lower left serif of 1 is longer than right
serif; top interior of 8 is smaller than bottom interior;
5 is wide, squat, with thick top flag and thick right
side to curve, upright slants almost imperceptibly
to the right, the digit overall is unlike any other
5 used up to this point; 9 slightly low and leans
slightly right. Used on alfdies for all mints.
Number of Appearances:
50 (11%)
High Grade Condition Points: 8
Average Grade: VF-30
Auction Records:
(8) Proof:
Wolfson 1962; Menjou 1950; MC 1948; Lee 1947; Atwater
1946; WGC 1946; Bell 1944; Ten Eyck 1922
(1) Unc: Holmes 1960
(6) AU:
Stack's 9/81; ANA 1976; ANA 1974; Paramount 5/74;
Stack's 10/70; ANA 1956
(24) VF:
New England 10/81; Stack's 6/79, 2/79, 6/77; RARCOA
5/77; Superior 11/76; Paramount 11,75; Pine Tree 6/75;
Superior 10/74; Gilhousen 1973; Stack's 4/71; Kreisberg/Cohen
11/70; ANA 1968; Stack's 5/68, 4/67; Paramount 2/67;
Stack's 10/66; Paramount 5/66; Bolt 1966; Paramount
3/66; FUN 1963; Cicero i960; Melish 1956; Farouk 1954
(1) Fine:
Shuford 1968
Comments: Along with the 1855-O, the 1859 double eagle
is one of my "pet" dates of the first type
of Liberty Head Double Eagle. The mintage is small
but still does not begin to convey the true rarity
of the date, particularly in high grade. In 443 auctions
dating back over 60 years, only one 1859 was ever
catalogued as "uncirculated," the Holmes
specimen in 1960. I have not seen that particular
coin and thus cannot say whether or not it was really
uncirculated. I can say, however, that 1 have never
personally seen an unc and have seen no more than
a few that legitimately graded AU. The finest I know
of was in Paramount's 1974 Greater New York (May)
Sale. The typically available 1859 is well worn, usually
VF with a partially prooflike or fully prooflike surface.
Actually, in any grade the 1859 must be considered
rare. Among all 204 Double Eagle issues, it is tied
for 7th in rarity according to average grade and is
just below the top 20 (25th) based on total number
of appearances at auction. A few proofs of this date
are known, perhaps as many as seven or eight. The
Royal London Mint's collection contains two 1859 proofs
of each of the U.S. gold denominations from SI to
$10. It is probable that at one time the Double Eagles
were also in the collection but they are not there
now.
1859
HISTORICAL HIGHTLIGHTS
Springfield,
Illinois, Jan. 5. Stephen A. Douglas wins
second term in Senate, defeat¬ing Abraham Lincoln. Texas, Feb. 23. Governor Hardin R.
Runnels issues proclamation instructing Tex-ans to
avoid hostilities against Indians. Mississippi River, Apr. 9. Samuel
Clemens becomes li¬censed riverboat pilot on Mississippi
River. Springfield. Illinois, April. Abraham
Lincoln, in letter to editor T.J. Pickeit, confides,
"I must, in candor, say I do not consider myself
fit for the Presidency." Vicksburg, Mississippi. May 9-19.
Southern Commercial Convention meets to call for reinstilution
of legal slave trade. Utah Territory, July 2. Mail service
established to Salt Lake City by stagecoach. Colorado, September. Voters reject
proposed constitution for "Slate of Jefferson." Massachusetts, Oct. 30. Henry David
Thoreau speaks out on behalf of John Brown. Colorado, Nov. 16. "Claim jumpers"
lay waste to St. Charles, renaming it "Denver"
after first Governor of Kansas Territory. James Denver. Washington, D.C., Dec. 5. Charles
Sumner of Massachu¬setts resumes Senate duties
after recovery from beating by Representative Preston
Brooks of South Carolina. Salem. Massachusetts. Moses Gcrrish
Farmer demonstrates his electric incandescent light¬ing
with two lamps powered by wet-cell battery with platinum
filaments. Mount Vernon, Virginia. George Washington's
home dedicated as national monument. Cambridge. Massachusetts. Massachusetts
Institute of Technology founded. Mississippi. Legislalure resolves
to secede from union immediately if a Republican is
elected president. Ohio. John D. Rockefeller helps Negro
buy his wife out of slavery. Chicago. Approximately 2.000 daguerrotypc
studios have opened across the nation.
