Numismatic

1879 $20 Liberty Gold Double Eagle AU

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Struck in the late nineteenth century, this 1879 twenty-dollar gold piece represents a classic era of American coinage. Minted at the Philadelphia facility, the coin is composed of 90 percent gold, containing 0.9675 troy ounces of the precious metal. Although the original production run reached 207,600 pieces, a significant portion of these coins was melted down in subsequent decades, making surviving examples particularly intriguing to study. The design, created by James B. Longacre, was produced for over half a century, spanning the years 1850 to 1907. On the obverse side, a left-facing portrait of Liberty is adorned with a headband displaying her name, surrounded by a ring of thirteen stars. The reverse side presents a detailed heraldic eagle shielding its chest, positioned beneath another cluster of thirteen stars. Legible inscriptions on the reverse identify the issuing nation as the United States of America alongside the face value of the coin.