United States 1886 20 dollars

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Sincona sale 100, lot 1138

This specimen was lot 1138 in Sincona Auction 100 (Zürich, October 2025), where it sold for 60,000 CHF (about US$90,432 including buyers' fees). The catalog description[1] noted,

"USA 20 Dollars 1886, Philadelphia. Liberty head type. Kopf der Liberty nach links mit Diadem mit der Aufschrift LIBERTY im Kreis aus 13 Sternen, unten die Jahreszahl. Rv. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Weisskopfseeadler mit ausgebreiteten Schwingen mit einem Spruchband mit E PLURIBUS UNUM, darüber IN GOD WE / TRUST in einem Kreis aus 13 Sternen unter Strahlen, unten die Wertangabe TWENTY DOLLARS. Sehr selten. Nur 1'000 Exemplare geprägt. (United States, twenty dollars of 1886, Philadelphia mint, liberty head type. Obverse: diademed Liberty head left, 13 stars around, date below; reverse: A bald eagle with outstretched wings holding a banner with the inscription PLURIBUS UNUM, above it a circle of 13 stars within rays, below, the denomination TWENTY DOLLARS. Very rare. Only 1,000 specimens struck. NGC AU55.)"

After the Civil War, paper currency began to displace coins for large transactions and gold coins spent most of their lives in vaults. As a result, survivors may be bagmarked but rarely come heavily worn. During 1879-92 the Philadelphia mint struck very few twenty dollar gold pieces and those were mostly proofs. Most specimens from that period were made in San Francisco. Large issues resumed in 1893 and the later dates are common.

Recorded mintage: 1,000 plus 106 proofs.

Specification: 516 grains (33.436 grams), 1 1/3" (34 millimeters) diameter, 90% gold, silver not over 5%, rest copper; reeded edge; this specimen 33.38 g.

Catalog reference: KM 74.3, Fr-177.

Source:

  • Alexander, David T., Coin World Comprehensive Catalog & Encyclopedia of United States Coins, Sidney, OH: Amos Press, 1995.
  • Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
  • Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
  • Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011.
  • Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
  • [1]Richter, Jurg, SINCONA Auction 100: SINCONA Jubilee Auction, Zurich: SINCONA AG, 2025.

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