1854 Liberty Head $20 Gold Coin

The 1854 Liberty Head $20 Gold Coin only minted one million coins, which makes them among the scarcer issues in the series. The US Mint, since being founded in the late 1700s, has risen to the ranks of the most popular mints in the world. Not only tasked with producing the coinage of the United States, the mint has also been tasked with the production of coins for countries all over the world.

The 1854-O double eagle is one of the most popular and rarest regularly issued business-strike gold coins from the pre-1933 era. While the official mintage stood at more than 3,200 pieces, perhaps only under 30 coins exist today This is due mainly to melting and natural attrition. Back in the 1850s, there was virtually no interest in collecting or saving coins by mintmark, and thus none were intentionally saved for the purposes of preserving any representative specimens of the issue.

Grading the 1854 Liberty Head $20 Gold Coin

When it comes to collecting Liberty Head $20 Gold Coins, the first thing a collector will look at is the condition the coin is in overall. Being over a century and a ½ old, it is quite obvious that these coins have had ample opportunity to become damaged. This is why, before making a purchase, you will see collectors closely analyze every aspect of the coin in search of even the smallest imperfections.

One option with regard to assessing the condition of a coin is to send it away for grading. Understanding that not everyone has the time and money to be able to do this, we have provided below a listing of the different popular coin grades as well as their associated characteristics.

Uncirculated: A coin that is graded as being Uncirculated is one that spent no time at all changing hands or paying for goods. Instead, shortly after being minted these coins were put into safekeeping and kept out of harm’s way. Because of this, they are in absolutely perfect condition and are the apple of every collector’s eye.

Extremely Fine: A coin that has been determined to be Extremely Fine is one that spent a very limited amount of time in circulation. Thanks to this limited circulation, the coin in question will have retained most of its original shine and texture. As you might expect, these coins are extremely popular for collectors.

Fine: A coin that is graded as being Fine is one that spent a good bit of time being circulated, but did not incur all that much damage during that time. Apart from some slight but consistent scratching, these coins will appear to be in decent shape. You might even notice that the surface of Fine coins will have been worn down a bit due to excessive handling.

Good: Good is the lowest grade a coin can receive and is usually indicative of a coin that was in circulated for over a century. These coins will have plenty of wear and other types of damage including chipping, bending, and heavy scratching. Though in poor shape, a collector looking to put together a complete collection of Liberty Head $20 Gold Coin might be interested in a piece like this.

Pricing the 1854 Liberty Head $20 Gold Coin

If you are attempting to figure out just what you might be asked to pay for a 1854 Liberty Head $20 Gold Coin, there are a few things you must pay attention to. First, because multiple types of the coin were produced annually, the exact type you own and its associated scarcity will play very heavily into the price you pay. Secondly, because the coin is so old, you must pay attention to its condition. With help from the chart below, you can gain a better idea of what you might be asked to pay for a 1854 Liberty Head $20 Gold Coin given its type and condition.

Liberty Head $20 Gold Coin

DATE	GOOD	FINE	EXTREMELY FINE	UNCIRCULATED
1854 Liberty Head $20 Gold Coin	N/A	$65	$2,250	$2,850
1854 Liberty Head $20 Gold Coin (O)	N/A	N/A	$260,000	$485,000
1854 Liberty Head $20 Gold Coin (S)	N/A	N/A	$4,000	$8,500
Source: Red Book