3 Types of Liberty Head Double Eagles
- Type 1: No motto, value "Twenty D." 1849–1866
- Type 2: With motto, value "Twenty D." 1866–1876
- Type 3: With motto, value "Twenty Dollars" 1877–1907
The US Mint released two different series of gold double eagle coins, including the Liberty Head and Saint Gaudens double eagles.
With a face value of $20, the Liberty Head double eagle coins were produced between 1849 and 1907. These coins had a weight of 33.436 grams and a diameter of 34 mm with a standard composition of 90% gold and 10% copper. The net gold weight was .96750 ounces.
Designed by James Barton Longacre, then Chief Engraver of the US Mint, the obverse side of the coin features a lady's head with 13 stars in an oval with rays above. It was said that the lady was modeled after an ancient Greco-Roman sculpture, the Crouching Venus. The reverse side features a spread eagle with a shield on its breast. "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" appears above the eagle, with the denomination expressed as TWENTY D. below.
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 1897 S $20 LIBERTY HEAD DOUBLE EAGLE GOLD PCGS AU58  US $1,485.00
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 1897 S Gold $20 Liberty Double Eagle Coin Nice BU US $1,625.00
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 Bezel Set 2000 Rare 1880 Liberty Head Double EagleCoin US $1,499.00
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 1907 $2000 LIBERTY HEAD DOUBLE EAGLE GOLD COIN US $1,499.99
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 1898 S $2000 LIBERTY HEAD DOUBLE EAGLE GOLD COIN US $1,499.99
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 1902 S LIBERTY DOUBLE EAGLE GOLD $2000 DOLLAR COIN US $1,300.00
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 1908 St Gaudens NO MOTTO $20 Gold Double Eagle coin US $1,275.00
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 1924 St Gaudens $20 Gold Double Eagle coin US $1,225.00
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 1927 St Gaudens $20 Gold Double Eagle coin US $1,225.00
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 1903 Liberty Double Eagle $20 Coronet gold coin US $1,290.00
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 1904 $20 GOLD DOUBLE EAGLE LIBERTY HEAD US $1,136.00
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 1904 $20 GOLD Liberty Double Eagle PL CHOICE BU PL US $1,430.00
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Longacre used a similar Liberty for both the dollar and $20, a handsome woman's head displaying a meticulous nose and wearing a pearl-bordered diadem inscribed LIBERTY. It was modeled after an ancient Greco-Roman sculpture, the Crouching Venus. His reverse reflected his training as a two-dimensional engraver. Based on the Great Seal of the United States, it depicts a spread eagle with a shield on its breast, 13 stars in an oval with rays above. The nation's name appears above, the denomination expressed as TWENTY D. below.
In 1866, a religious motto "IN GOD WE TRUST" was added to the liberty head double eagle coins that were struck at the San Francisco Mint. So the previous double eagles with no motto were often referred ad "Type 1" or "No Motto" liberty head double eagles. The coins produced between 1866 and 1876 with motto were referred as "Type 2" liberty head double eagles.
In 1877, then US Mint's Chief Engraver William Barber replaced the denomination TWENTY D. with TWENTY DOLLARS in the double eagle gold coins (Type 3). The Type 3 Liberty head double eagles were by far the largest mintage of the three types with 64,137,477 business strikes and 2,426 proofs minted from 1877 through 1907.