1861-O $20 (1861-O Double Eagle) PCGS AU50. Type 1 Double Eagle. This rare, New Orleans, Civil War dated 1861-O Double Eagle has a strong strike as indicated on the obverse by the detailed star centers, Libertys hair, and the eagle on the reverse. The dentils are strong on both sides. Subdued mint luster is seen within the devices. Sufficient separation in the lines of Libertys hair and the back portion of the coronet are present to warrant the grade.

This historic coin was struck under the aegis of three different governmental authorities. Approximately 5,000 were struck by the Federal government. After it seceded from the union, the state of Louisiana struck 9,750 pieces, and 2,991 coins were struck by the Confederacy. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell which coins were struck by which government. The coin is rare because fewer than 200 are known in all grades.

The New Orleans Mint was authorized in 1835 by President Andrew Jackson, hero of the battle of New Orleans. The bill that Jackson signed also authorized the mints at Charlotte and Dahlonega. William Strickland, a Philadelphia architect designed all three branch mint buildings. The New Orleans Mint building was made in the solid, bulky Greek Revival style of architecture. It was the largest of the three branch mints and located at major port of entry. Unfortunately Strickland did not account for the soft ground around the site. Because of it, the building had to undergo numerous repairs throughout its history.
Authorized to produce gold and silver, the New Orleans Mint struck quarter eagles and dimes in 1839. It operated from 1838 to 1909. In that time period 427 million silver and gold coins with the O mintmark were coined. By the mid 1850s denominations made in New Orleans included three cent silver pieces, half dimes, dimes, quarters, half dollars, silver dollars, gold dollars, quarter eagles, three dollar pieces, half eagles, eagles, and double eagles. The first deposit was of Mexican dollars which amounted to more than 32,400 dollars. The first coins struck were Liberty Seated Dimes. Each year between the beginning of August and the end of November, the mint closed because of the annual outbreak of yellow fever.

During the Civil War the New Orleans Mint was held by the Confederacy and used to produce its coinage. It was the only mint to produce uniquely identifiable Confederate coinage, the 1861 half dollar with Confederate reverse and the copper-nickel cent of the same year. In 1862 the New Orleans Mint was captured by United States Marines commanded by Commodore David Farragut and closed as a minting facility. The mint reopened as an assay office in 1876. Three years later federal coinage resumed. The New Orleans Mint was the only branch mint in the South to continue coinage after the Civil War. It lasted until 1909 when it was displaced by the mints in Denver and San Francisco. From then until 1931, the New Orleans Mint building was used as an assay office. It was then converted to a prison for Prohibition violators. In 1934 the prison was closed, and the Coast Guard took possession of the building. In 1979 it was transferred to Louisiana to be used as a museum.

Gold coinage was made at the New Orleans Mint from 1839 to 1906. Gold dollars were struck from 1849-1853 and in 1855. Quarter eagles were struck from 1839-1840, 1842-1843, 1845-1847, 1850-1852, and 1856-1857. A three dollar gold piece was struck in 1854. Half eagles were struck from 1840-1847, 1870-1883, 1888, 1892-1895, 1897, 1899, 1901, 1903-1904, and 1906. Double eagles were struck from 1850-1861 and in 1879.

Pre Civil War gold from the New Orleans Mint is rare because of low original mintages and low survival rates. Double eagle coins dated 1861 were minted for the Union as well as the Confederacy. However, for all of them the same dies were used so one is unable to tell which coins were struck for which authority.

In its population report, PCGS has certified 11 1861-O double eagles in AU50 condition with 31 better. Here is an opportunity to obtain a historically interesting and rare, authentic Civil War double eagle.