$20 Liberty Head Gold Double Eagle


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.

1907 $20 MS 61 NGC LIBERTY GOLD DOUBLE EAGLE MINT ERROR
1907 $20 MS 61 NGC LIBERTY GOLD DOUBLE EAGLE MINT ERROR
Paypal   US $2,488.88
1894 Liberty Head $20 Double Eagle Gold Coin MS61
1894 Liberty Head $20 Double Eagle Gold Coin MS61
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1904 $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle GOLD ICG MS63 NR
1904 $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle GOLD ICG MS63 NR
Paypal   US $1,326.13
1901 s $20 double eagle liberty head gold coin
1901 s $20 double eagle liberty head gold coin
Paypal   US $1,025.00
1907 Double Eagle Liberty $20 GOLD Uncirculated Coin NR
1907 Double Eagle Liberty $20 GOLD Uncirculated Coin NR
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1895 S $20 GOLD LIBERTY HEAD DOUBLE EAGLE NO RESERVE
1895 S $20 GOLD LIBERTY HEAD DOUBLE EAGLE NO RESERVE
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1894 S Liberty Head $20 Gold Double Eagle PCGS MS 62
1894 S Liberty Head $20 Gold Double Eagle PCGS MS 62
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1904 $2000 Liberty Head Gold Double Eagle
1904 $2000 Liberty Head Gold Double Eagle
Paypal   US $1,000.00
1904 $20 GOLD Liberty Double Eagle CHOICE UNC Details
1904 $20 GOLD Liberty Double Eagle CHOICE UNC Details
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1903 S $20 GOLD Liberty Double Eagle CHOICE BU NEAR GEM
1903 S $20 GOLD Liberty Double Eagle CHOICE BU NEAR GEM
Paypal   US $1,325.00
$20 Gold Liberty Copper Patern Argentina Gem Mint
$20 Gold Liberty Copper Patern Argentina Gem Mint
Paypal   US $279.95
1904 $2000 Liberty Head Double Eagle Gold Coin
1904 $2000 Liberty Head Double Eagle Gold Coin
Paypal   US $4,300.00
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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.