1872-S $20 Liberty Gold Double Eagle AU-58 NGC

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In 1872, the San Francisco Mint struck a limited run of 780,000 gold double eagles, each containing nearly a full troy ounce of gold (0.9675 troy ounces) at a purity of 0.900. This massive twenty-dollar coin represents a fascinating era of United States coinage, serving as a workhorse of commerce in the American West during the post-Civil War years. The obverse features a left-facing portrait of Liberty, her hair secured by a band inscribed with her name. Thirteen stars encircle her, representing the original colonies. On the reverse, a heraldic eagle stands proudly with a shield draped across its chest, beneath a halo of thirteen stars. The inscriptions "United States of America" and the "Twenty D." denomination frame the eagle, with the "S" mint mark indicating its origin at the San Francisco facility. This particular specimen has survived the decades in an exceptional About Uncirculated 58 condition, preserving the intricate details of its classic nineteenth-century engraving.