$20 Liberty Double Eagles overview
The $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle is one of the most significant series in American gold coinage, struck by the United States Mint from 1849 through 1907. Composed of .900 fine gold and weighing 33.436 grams (approximately 0.9675 troy oz of pure gold), the double eagle was the highest face-value coin produced for…
Updated June 2026
$20 Liberty Double Eagles
The $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle is one of the most significant series in American gold coinage, struck by the United States Mint from 1849 through 1907. Composed of .900 fine gold and weighing 33.436 grams (approximately 0.9675 troy oz of pure gold), the double eagle was the highest face-value coin produced for regular circulation during the nineteenth century. The series encompasses two major design subtypes: the Type I (1849–1866), featuring no motto on the reverse; the Type II (1866–1876), which added IN GOD WE TRUST above the eagle; and the Type III (1877–1907), distinguished by the reverse legend change from TWENTY D. to TWENTY DOLLARS. Liberty's coroneted portrait on the obverse was designed by James B. Longacre, the Mint's Chief Engraver at the time of the coin's introduction.\n\nWithin numismatics, the Liberty Double Eagle holds a distinctive position as a workhorse of commerce and international trade throughout the Gilded Age. Examples were produced at multiple mint facilities — Philadelphia, San Francisco, Carson City, New Orleans, and Denver among them — resulting in a wide range of mintages and corresponding collectibility by date and mintmark. Circulated grades (VF through AU) are the most commonly encountered, though certified Mint State examples exist across the series and command considerable collector interest. The Carson City (CC) issues are particularly sought after among date-and-mintmark collectors.\n\nOn CoinDuffle, buyers will find $20 Liberty Double Eagles spanning the full run of the series, offered by a range of professional dealers. Listings include raw circulated examples, problem-free AU survivors, and NGC- or PCGS-certified Mint State coins. Both individual date acquisitions and type-coin representatives of each subtype are regularly available, making this page a resource for specialist date collectors and type collectors alike.
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About $20 Liberty Double Eagles
The $20 Liberty Head Double Eagle is one of the most significant series in American gold coinage, struck by the United States Mint from 1849 through 1907. Composed of .900 fine gold and weighing 33.436 grams (approximately 0.9675 troy oz of pure gold), the double eagle was the highest face-value coin produced for regular circulation during the nineteenth century. The series encompasses two major design subtypes: the Type I (1849–1866), featuring no motto on the reverse; the Type II (1866–1876), which added IN GOD WE TRUST above the eagle; and the Type III (1877–1907), distinguished by the reverse legend change from TWENTY D. to TWENTY DOLLARS. Liberty's coroneted portrait on the obverse was designed by James B. Longacre, the Mint's Chief Engraver at the time of the coin's introduction.\n\nWithin numismatics, the Liberty Double Eagle holds a distinctive position as a workhorse of commerce and international trade throughout the Gilded Age. Examples were produced at multiple mint facilities — Philadelphia, San Francisco, Carson City, New Orleans, and Denver among them — resulting in a wide range of mintages and corresponding collectibility by date and mintmark. Circulated grades (VF through AU) are the most commonly encountered, though certified Mint State examples exist across the series and command considerable collector interest. The Carson City (CC) issues are particularly sought after among date-and-mintmark collectors.\n\nOn CoinDuffle, buyers will find $20 Liberty Double Eagles spanning the full run of the series, offered by a range of professional dealers. Listings include raw circulated examples, problem-free AU survivors, and NGC- or PCGS-certified Mint State coins. Both individual date acquisitions and type-coin representatives of each subtype are regularly available, making this page a resource for specialist date collectors and type collectors alike.
Frequently asked questions
A $20 Liberty Double Eagle is a United States gold coin struck from 1849 to 1907 with a face value of twenty dollars. It contains .900 fine gold in a 33.436-gram planchet, equating to approximately 0.9675 troy oz of pure gold. It was the largest denomination coin struck for general circulation during the nineteenth century and bears James B. Longacre's coroneted Liberty portrait on the obverse.
The series is divided into three types. Type I (1849–1866) lacks a motto on the reverse and reads TWENTY D. Type II (1866–1876) added the motto IN GOD WE TRUST above the eagle. Type III (1877–1907) retained the motto but changed the reverse denomination inscription to TWENTY DOLLARS. Each type is collected as a distinct design subtype, and all three are represented across the full date range of the series.
Liberty Double Eagles were struck at five U.S. Mint facilities: Philadelphia (no mintmark), San Francisco (S), Carson City (CC), New Orleans (O), and Denver (D). San Francisco produced some of the highest-mintage issues, while Carson City coins — minted from 1870 through 1893 — are among the most popular with collectors due to their regional history and comparatively limited production.
The majority of surviving Liberty Double Eagles grade in the circulated range, from VF-20 through AU-58, reflecting their heavy use in domestic and international commerce. Mint State examples (MS-60 and above) exist throughout the series but are significantly scarcer, particularly for Carson City and New Orleans issues. Many collector-grade specimens are certified by PCGS or NGC, and uncertified (raw) examples are also widely available.
Both are $20 U.S. gold coins of identical weight and fineness (.900 fine, 33.436 grams), but they represent entirely different designs and eras. The Liberty Double Eagle, designed by James B. Longacre, was produced from 1849 to 1907 and features a coroneted Liberty portrait. The Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, produced from 1907 to 1933, features Augustus Saint-Gaudens' high-relief Walking Liberty obverse and is widely regarded as a landmark of U.S. coin design.