Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature US Coin Sale 1258 2-6 Aug 2017
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Liberty Double Eagles
1861-O $20 -- Improperly Cleaned -- NGC Details. AU. The 1861-O twenties are best-known for their inevitable link to the Civil War and the handover of the New Orleans Mint from federal U.S. (Union) control -- first to the State of Louisiana, and later to the Confederacy. Throughout it all, the New Orleans Mint continued to strike coinage, although just 17,741 double eagles were issued by the three authorities combined. The Bowers reference states 5,000 pieces were distributed by the federal government, 9,750 pieces for the State of Louisiana, and 2,991 pieces for the Confederacy.
Many researchers have attempted to identify which coins were struck by each authority, but no definitive answer exists. The 1861 date is extremely weak at the bottom of the numerals on some examples (particularly the 8), which may be a key identifier. The present example was cleaned and is overly bright, yet it is sharply defined with near-perfect rims. It displays the weak date that is of interest to many specialists.
HID02901242017
1861-O $20 -- Improperly Cleaned -- NGC Details. AU. The 1861-O twenties are best-known for their inevitable link to the Civil War and the handover of the New Orleans Mint from federal U.S. (Union) control -- first to the State of Louisiana, and later to the Confederacy. Throughout it all, the New Orleans Mint continued to strike coinage, although just 17,741 double eagles were issued by the three authorities combined. The Bowers reference states 5,000 pieces were distributed by the federal government, 9,750 pieces for the State of Louisiana, and 2,991 pieces for the Confederacy.
Many researchers have attempted to identify which coins were struck by each authority, but no definitive answer exists. The 1861 date is extremely weak at the bottom of the numerals on some examples (particularly the 8), which may be a key identifier. The present example was cleaned and is overly bright, yet it is sharply defined with near-perfect rims. It displays the weak date that is of interest to many specialists.
HID02901242017