4 Ways to Collect Liberty Head Double Eagles

Specializing in Liberty Head Double Eagles requires patience, a healthy budget, and the need for a good specialist dealer to assist you on your quest. Upon its inauguration in 1849, the double eagle became the largest regular-issue gold coin struck by the United States. The Liberty Head design was the work of James B. Longacre, and it is found in three distinct iterations: Type One, 1849-1866 – No Motto on the reverse; produced at the Philadelphia, New Orleans, and San Francisco Mints.

• Type Two, 1866-1876 – Motto on reverse, value spelled as “TWENTY D.”; produced at the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Carson City Mints.
• Type Three, 1877-1907 – Value spelled as “TWENTY DOLLARS”; produced at the Philadelphia, New Orleans (1879 only), San Francisco, Carson City, and Denver (1906-1907 only) Mints.

Of the three types, the Type One is clearly the most popular, but it is also the most difficult to collect due to the presence of many rare issues. Several Type One issues are either unknown or are extremely rare in Mint State grades. A decision to specialize in high-end Type One double eagles is a serious seven-figure commitment and it will require luck, patience, and plenty of knowledge, as this is a difficult series replete with potential land mines.

Don’t let my ramblings scare you off from collecting Liberty Head Double Eagles. You don’t have to be a billionaire to specialize in this series! Here are five ways, both affordable and spendy, by which a collector can actively participate in this active and interesting market.

#1 – Build A Complete Set of Liberty Head Double Eagles

We might as well begin with the most ambitious way to collect this series: building a complete date and mintmark set, issued from 1850 through 1907. This set consists of no less than 150 different issues and includes every major variety except for the exceedingly rare Philadelphia 1861 Paquet Reverse, of which just two are known).

This is not a project for the faint of heart or the collector on a limited budget. Many of the rare dates don’t generally exist in grades higher than AU55 to AU58, and they are not often found with good eye appeal. Locating semi-affordable collector-quality coins is also exceptionally difficult, as many issues didn’t see extensive circulation and were roughly handled after they were struck.

There are at least eight dates in the Liberty Head Double Eagle series that will run the advanced collector six figures to add to their set (1854-O, 1856-O, 1861-S Paquet, 1870-CC, the three proof-only dates, and 1882), and there are literally dozens that run from the mid-to-high five figures for a nice example.

#2 – A Complete Mint Set

Five different mints produced Liberty Head Double Eagles; this includes the short-lived Denver issues of 1906-1907. The other four mints are Carson City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

A Carson City set is difficult to complete due to the rarity and high price point of the 1870-CC; a marginal quality example runs more than $250,000. If this issue is not included, the keys are the 1871-CC, 1878-CC, 1879-CC, 1885-CC, and 1891-CC.

A New Orleans set consists of just 13 issues but even the relatively available issues (1850-O through 1853-O) are rare in Mint State and not easy to find in properly graded AU55 to AU58. The 1854-O and 1856-O are the keys to the set, and both are extremely expensive ($300,000-$500,000+). This set is challenging, expensive, and it definitely will take patience.

Liberty Head Philadelphia Double Eagles were made from 1850 through 1907 without interruption. In the Type One series, the key issues are the 1859, 1862, and 1863. None of the Philadelphia Type Two issues are rare, while the Type Three dates contain rare low-mintage issues. A Philadelphia date set is extremely challenging and is best left to deep-pocketed collectors.

San Francisco Liberty Head Double Eagles were struck continuously from 1854 through 1907, with the exception of 1886. The two key issues are the 1861-S Paquet Reverse and the 1866-S No Motto. Most of the other dates are available in the higher AU grades for $5,000 and under.

#3 – A Complete Year Set

Liberty Head Double Eagles were produced for 57 years. A complete date set attempts to assemble one example for each of these years. The only potential stumbling block is the 1886, which was made only at the Philadelphia Mint in extremely limited quantities. It’s a rare and expensive issue. That’s the bad news. The good news is that every other year has at least one affordable option, and even the collector on a reasonably limited budget ($2,500-$5,000 per coin) has a realistic chance to complete this set with coins grading XF45 to AU50 and finer.

I have a few suggestions. The first is to try and include at least one example from each of the five mints that produced the Liberty Head Double Eagle types. A common Carson City Double Eagle in nice XF grades can be obtained for around $4,000, while a common-date New Orleans Double Eagle will run around $5,000 or so.

#4 – A Rarities Collection

Let’s say you have a large coin budget, but you aren’t all-in on the concept of assembling a 150+ coin set or even a 57-coin year set. The answer might be a small collection focusing on the seven Liberty Head Double Eagles that I regard as “classic rarities.” These are as follows: 1854-O, 1856-O, 1861-S Paquet Reverse, 1870-CC, 1883, 1884, and 1887.

A wealthy collector focusing on the classic rarities among the Liberty Head Double Eagle has a formidable challenge on their hands. The first four coins listed above are pretty much non-existent in grades over AU55 apart from a few reasonably nice Paquets grading from AU58 to MS61. Meanwhile, the three proof-only issues (1883, 1884, and 1887) are found in relatively high grades but all are, of course, rare and expensive.