1861 $20 Double Eagle NGC XF45 CAC. Moderately circulated, with some luster remaining in the protected fields,this Civil War double eagle would be a great addition to a type set of circulated Civil War coinage. Moderate sun-yellow fields with some marks are noted on both sides, with overall a strong eye-appeal.

The strike appears to have been strong, with good detail, including the stars and libertys hair still visible. Not as available as the later dates of the series, but still relatively affordable for the type, this coin would make an excellent addition to any collection. While nearly three million double eagles were minted at the Philadelphia Mint this year, many have been exported and melted, making the number of survivors much lower.

This is the very first year of the American Civil War and an extremely popular date with a wide range of buyers from coin collectors, to rare coin investors, Civil War collectors, double eagle collectors. And this coin will celebrate it's Sesquicentennial in 2011 marking 150 years when this coin was struck, just at the precipice of what many would label as America's Second Revolution, which unfortunately didn't have the same effect as the first one. Numismatically, only 4 other 1861 Double Eagles have attained the green CAC sticker in the grade Extremely Fine 45, no matter what service and a mere 25 finer, as of 12/17/2009.