Numismatic

1885-S $20 Liberty Gold Double Eagle AU

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In 1885, the San Francisco branch of the United States Mint produced a run of 683,500 twenty-dollar gold pieces. Known as the Liberty Double Eagle, this impressive coin contains 0.9675 troy ounces of gold with a purity of 0.900. While many of these coins were melted down in subsequent decades, surviving examples like this one, graded in Almost Uncirculated condition, offer a direct window into late nineteenth-century American coinage. The obverse side, designed by James B. Longacre, features a left-facing portrait of Liberty. Her hair is bound by a band clearly inscribed with the word LIBERTY, and she is encircled by thirteen stars representing the original colonies. This design was a staple of American gold coinage, minted continuously from 1850 to 1907. On the reverse, a detailed heraldic eagle holds a shield against its breast. Above the eagle, another cluster of thirteen stars appears, accompanied by the national motto. The outer rim bears the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the face value, TWENTY DOLLARS. This specimen carries the S mint mark, denoting its origin from the busy San Francisco facility.