United States 1856-S 20 dollars
This specimen was lot 1882 in Jean Elsen sale 162 (Brussels, June 2025), where it sold for €2,800 (about US$3,881 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ÉTATS-UNIS, AV 20 dollars, 1856 S, San Francisco. 1er type. (United States, gold twenty dollars of 1856, San Francisco mint, first type. Very Fine.)"
The immense quantities of gold coming from California during the Gold Rush prompted Congress to approve the issue of a new coin, the twenty dollar gold piece. One example, probably a pattern, exists of the 1849 but substantial quantities were made at Philadelphia and New Orleans, starting in 1850. A new branch mint was constructed at San Francisco in 1854 and it contributed as well. Minting ceased in New Orleans with the start of the Civil War but Philadelphia and San Francisco continued until 1866, when the reverse was modified to add "IN GOD WE TRUST". Those made after the Civil War circulated little, being displaced by paper currency, and many were exported to Europe or South America to back currency there. The salvage of the SS Central America added thousands of uncirculated 1856-S and 1857-S $20's to the collector marketplace.
Recorded mintage: 1,189,750.
Specification: 33.43 g, 0.900 fine gold, 34 mm diameter, reeded edge.
Catalog reference: KM 74.1, Fr-172.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 162: Collection Jacques Druart, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
Link to:
- 1855-S 20 dollars
- 1856 large cent
- 1856 "flying eagle" cent
- 1856 3 cents
- 1856 half dime
- 1856 dime
- 1856 gold dollar type III
- 1856-C 5 dollars
- 1856-D 5 dollars
- 1856 10 dollars
- 1856-S 10 dollars
- 1857-O 20 dollars
- Coins and currency dated 1856
- return to United States Liberty Head Double Eagles (1849-1907)