1861 $20 (1861 Double Eagle) NGC XF45. Civil War Double Eagle. This Civil War dated 1861 Double Eagle has a full strike as seen in the centers of the obverse stars and the design details of the reverse. As an XF45, the coin shows some wear, and aside from the scrape in front of Libertys forehead and through her nose, the surfaces are clean and free of distractions. Traces of mint luster are seen within some of the devices.

James B. Longacre designed the double eagle. The obverse 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.

Because of its large mintage, the 1861 double eagle is considered a type coin. Until the S.S. Central America was discovered, it was the most common Type 1 double eagle.