By CoinWeek ….
On Sunday, February 9, GreatCollections will auction a condition-census 1886 Liberty Head Double Eagle. The coin is the third-rarest Type 3 Double Eagle, the Type 3 being distinguished by the addition of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST and the denomination spelled out as TWENTY DOLLARS, both on the reverse. Most dates of the type are common, but conditionally rare. The 1886, however, is rare in all grades with its original mintage of 1,000 pieces winnowed down to a surviving population of no more than 60 pieces.
This example first appeared on the market in 2022, when it was offered as part of the Fairmont-Hendricks Set. The Fairmont Collection is a gold coin hoard of historic proportions that has been disbursed over the past several years. The hoard has offered a font of knowledge to 19th-century gold coin specialists as the surfaces on most of the pieces are original. By contrast, most coins of the type have been processed for commercial acceptance.
The Liberty Head Double Eagle debuted in 1850 at the height of the California Gold Rush. The purchasing power of the coin was immense at its time of manufacture, representing a month’s wages for laborers. The coin was primarily held in reserves by financial institutions or used to facilitate export trade. Many thousands of 1857-S Liberty Head Double Eagles were lost for more than 100 years following the sinking of SS Central America. The American Civil War disrupted the coin’s circulation, which did not normalize until the late 1870s. The Type 3 Liberty Head Double Eagle, being the last type, is the most common, but the rare 1886 Double Eagle, like the one being offered by GreatCollections, belongs in its own category as a series key date.
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