1856-S $20 SS Central America (1856-S Double Eagle SSCA) PCGS MS65 CAC. This gem, well struck, Western branch mint 1856-S Double Eagle SS Central America from the ill-fated S.S. Central America is tied for second finest at PCGS. The coin glistens with cartwheel-bright mint luster and exhibits a bold strike on both sides. Full details are seen on the centers of the stars, Libertys hair, and the design details of the reverse. The gem grade is confirmed by the CAC sticker, which indicates that the coin is of premium quality and meets stringent standards for the grade. As expected for a gem coin, the surfaces are original, clean, and free of distractions worthy of individual mention.

Over one thousand 1856-S double eagles were salvaged from the S.S. Central America. When they entered the market, they were studied for their die varieties. The present coin is the No Serif Left S variety.

Until the discovery of the S.S. Central America, 1850s double eagles in gem condition were virtually unavailable. The ship, originally called the S.S. George Law, was a United States mail steamship. In 1857 it sank off the coast of the Carolinas because of a huge hurricane. It was a three-mast, side-wheel steamship that traveled between Panama and New York. The journey took approximately 21 days. In the five years prior to its sinking, it has been estimated that the Central America carried about $150 million worth of gold or one-third of all of the gold mined in California. The ship was 272 feet long and had 578 passengers and crew on board. It also had on board over 35,000 pieces of mail and gold bars, nuggets, dust, and 5200 newly minted San Francisco gold coins from the West, of which the present coin is one. The loss of the Central America triggered the Panic of 1857, which was caused by bank instability and generally poor economic conditions.

In 1985, the Columbus-America Discovery Group raised ten million dollars and began to search for the wreck. They found it at a depth of 8,500 feet off the coast of South Carolina. It is estimated that the total coins, ingots, and gold bars were worth more than one hundred million dollars.

James B. Longacre designed the double eagle. It shows a Liberty head facing left wearing coronet inscribed LIBERTY. Her hair is tightly tied in the back with two loose curls hanging down her neck to the end of the truncation. She is surrounded by thirteen six pointed stars with the date below. Dentils are near the edge on both sides of the coin. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle with elaborate ribbons on both sides of the shield extending from the top corner down to the eagles tail feathers. The ribbons are inscribed, on the left E PLURIBUS and UNUM on the right. The ribbons were added to the design to symbolize the denomination since this was the first twenty dollar coin. There is an oval of thirteen stars above the eagles head and an arc of rays from wing tip to wing tip behind the upper half of the oval. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is in an arc above the eagle, and the denomination TWENTY D. is below. The mint mark is between the tail feathers and the N of TWENTY.

The San Francisco Mint opened in 1854 because of the need to coin gold resulting from the California Gold Rush. In the West there was an abundance of gold bullion, nuggets and dust; however, there was also an acute shortage of circulating coinage. Congress authorized this mint to relive the shortage and coin silver and gold and because transportation of bullion to Philadelphia was time consuming and hazardous. Because of its proximity to the Gold Rush area, San Francisco was chosen as the site of the new mint. In 1874 it moved into a new building called the Old United States Mint or the Granite Lady. It is one of the few structures that survived the earthquake of 1906. It remained in service as a mint until 1938, when the present facility opened.

The No Serif Left S variety of the 1856-S double eagle is rare in all grades. In its population report, PCGS shows 5 in MS65 with 2 better. At NGC there is 1 with none better, and at CAC, as of January 2012, there is 1 at MS65 with 1 better.