1861 $20 (1861 Double Eagle) NGC AU50 CAC. Civil War Double Eagle. This first year of the Civil War 1861 Double Eagle shimmers with much remaining mint luster. Abrasion on Libertys cheek and in the fields, keep this coins from a higher grade. The grade of AU50 is confirmed by CAC. The strike is strong on the obverse but shows some weakness on the ribbons of the reverse.

James Barton Longacre designed the pattern for the twenty dollar double eagle in 1849. It was produced because of the huge amount of gold that came into the Mint from California. With the discovery of gold at Sutters Mill in January 1848, the California gold rush began. It led to an influx of miners and others into the area. The vast quantity of gold produced led to a need for a standard form of exchange. The double eagle was the governments response. They also felt that the twenty dollar coin would be useful for large commercial transactions and that it would facilitate foreign trade.

Longacres design shows a Liberty head in profile 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.

In the CAC population report there are only 2 stickered at AU50 including the present specimen and only 35 better as of 3-14-2011.