Gold coin 20 Dollar American Double Eagle | Liberty Head | 1904

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During the time the $20 Liberty was issued, the official gold price was $20.67 per ounce. The gold content of the Double Eagle was determined to be 0.9675 ounces, equivalent to its $20 gold value. Prior to 1849, the highest denomination coin issued by the US government was $10, a gold coin known as the "Eagle," minted beginning in 1795. The new gold $20 Liberty coins were therefore quickly dubbed the "Double Eagle" because they were twice the size of the established and the popular 10-dollar coin "Eagle. During its mintage, the $20 Liberty Double Eagle gold coin was produced in three varieties.

Type 1 - $20 Liberty Double Eagle, "no motto"

The first gold $20 coins were minted in 1849. Interestingly, only two coins dated 1849 were issued that year. One is currently in the national collection at the Smithsonian Institution. Regular production of the 20-dollar Double Eagle was only started in 1850 at the Philadelphia and New Orleans mints. The San Francisco Mint began minting coins in 1854. The last $20 Liberty coin from the New Orleans Mint was struck in 1861. In the spring of that year, the New Orleans Mint was seized, first by the state of Louisiana, then by the Confederacy. The first type design became known as the "No Motto" design because, unlike later types, the coin does not feature the national motto "In God We Trust" on the reverse.

Type 2 - $20 Liberty Double Eagle, "with motto"

The minting of the second type began in 1866, the motto "In God We Trust" was added to the reverse for the first time. This change in coin design quickly became known as the "password" variant. Double Eagles of the second type were minted 1866 - 1876 at the Philadelphia and San Francisco mints. In early 1870, the newly opened mint in Carson City also began minting Type 2 $20 gold Liberty coins. This famous wild west mint minted $20, $10 and $5 gold coins, but only for 23 years before the mint closed in 1893.

Type 3 - $20 Liberty Double Eagle

In 1877, the $20 Liberty Double Eagle coin was revised for the third and final time. The face portrait of Miss Liberty has been cleaned up and now shows finer details of the face and hair. On the reverse, the spelling of the value has changed from "TWENTY D." to "TWENTY DOLLARS". Type 3 Double Eagles were struck at the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Carson City mints. The New Orleans Mint minted the Type 3 only in 1879 and the Denver Mint for just two years, 1906 and 1907. The last $20 Liberty Double Eagle gold coin was minted in 1907. That year Theodore Roosevelt commissioned the famous sculptor Auguste Saint-Gaudens to create a new design for the $20 gold coin, one that would reflect the vibrancy of America as a dominant world leader.

Liberty Head (Coronet) Types 1849-1907

Liberty Head, no motto on reverse, denomination "Twenty D." 1849-1866
Liberty Head, with motto on reverse, denomination "Twenty D." 1866-1876
Liberty Head, with motto on reverse, denomination "Twenty Dollars" 1877-1907