Using sophisticated recovery techniques, employing a robot device and a special chemical preservative compound to surround the artifacts discovered, the team brought to the surface a vast treasure of numismatic items, including thousands of 1857-S double eagles in pristine condition, which had been part of a shipment from the San Francisco Mint to the New York Assay Office. As this guide is being written, exploration is continuing, and the eventual disposition of this and other numismatic treasures has not been decided. Eventually, numismatists will probably be able to own these items which will combine not only a remarkable degree of quality and preservation, but a fascinating history. If marketed effectively, the treasure from the Central America may well serve to significantly increase interest in all United States gold coins, just as the availability of large quantities of Morgan silver dollars following the Treasury release in 1962 served to propel that series to the forefront.

Budget Recommendations: No recommendations here, as low-grade $20 are apt to be quite unattractive. Consider what I have to say under the following listing.

Recommendations for the Connoisseur: Start with a type set of the three major designs. AU-50 to MS-60 is a practical objective for the 1850-1866 type, MS-60 to MS-63 for the 1866-1876 style, and MS-64 for the 1877-1907 design. For the last-named try to pick something besides a common issue (the commonest are 1904, in particular, and 1904-S). Believe it or not, many people have endeavored to build a date and mintmark set of Liberty Head double eagles. The challenge is there, and the cost is not as much as you might think. If you can live without the top dozen major rarities, you can form a set with the earlier pieces EF-40 to AU-50 and the later ones AU-55 or better, with the vast majority of the pieces costing less than $700 each. As these words are being written, gold bullion is at a low point, and many double eagles are cheaper now than they have been in many years.

Elite Recommendations: Read the preceding, then escalate your grade objectives upward, but before you do so consult David Akers' book on double eagles, published in a new edition in 1993, which gives an indication of the availability of issues in higher grades. For example, finding Mint State examples of early New Orleans issues is a practical impossibility.