Years
Designer
James B. Longacre
Composition
90% gold, 10% copper
Diameter
34 mm
Mass
33.44 g
Thickness
2.5 mm
Edge
Reeded
Mints
Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, Carson City
Metal
Gold
Design
Coroneted Liberty; reverse a heavy heraldic eagle. Type 1 no motto, Type 2 motto with TWENTY D., Type 3 TWENTY DOLLARS.
History
The double eagle exists because of California: so much gold arrived that a $20 coin became practical. Type 1 (1850–66) has no motto; IN GOD WE TRUST arrives 1866. Carson City twenties are a series within a series. Many were melted after 1933. The 1861-S Paquet reverse, 1870-CC, and 1856-O are legendary. This is the workhorse gold coin of the Gilded Age — bank reserves, transatlantic settlement, and the gold standard made visible.
Key dates
194 issues