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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 1903 $20 US LIBERTY HEAD GOLD COIN DOUBLE EAGLE  US $1,393.00
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 1883 CC LIBERTY HEAD GOLD DOUBLE EAGLE $20 VF35 NGC US $1,975.00
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 1873 $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle Gold RARE US $1,249.00
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 1904 $20 LIBERTY HEAD DOUBLE EAGLE PCGS MS 63 US $1,775.00
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 1849 LIBERTY HEAD DOUBLE EAGLE 20 DOLLAR GOLD PROOF US $8.00
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 $20 GOLD 1888 S Liberty MS61 PCGS US $1,495.00
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 1908 ST GAUDEN $20 GOLD DOUBLE EAGLE NO MOTTO US $3,200.00
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 Certified 1859 S $20 Double Eagle Gold Coin MS60 US $12,000.00
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 Certified 1859 S $20 Double Eagle AU58 US $7,000.00
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 1878 S $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle GOLD NGC MS60 US $1,575.00
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 1894 $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle Gold NGC MS60 US $1,480.00
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 Better Date 1882 S Gold $20 Liberty Double Eagle Coin US $1,875.00
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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.