Written by the Maison Or & Bijoux Cannes team · updated
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Metal | Gold, 900‰ fine (10% copper) |
| Weight | 33.44 g |
| Fine gold | 30.09 g |
| Diameter | 34 mm (34.1 mm in some sources) |
| Years struck | Liberty from 1850 to 1907 (pattern dated 1849); Saint-Gaudens from 1907 to 1933 |
| Mints | Philadelphia (no letter), New Orleans (O), San Francisco (S), Carson City (CC), Denver (D, from 1906) |
| Engraver | James B. Longacre (Liberty); Augustus Saint-Gaudens (Saint-Gaudens) |
| Edge | Reeded (Liberty); raised inscription “E PLURIBUS UNUM” (Saint-Gaudens) |
| References | American catalogues arranged by date and mint (Red Book, PCGS numbers) |
Struck in the United States between 1850 and 1933, the $20 double eagle weighs 33.44 g: no other American gold coin made for circulation is as heavy. A woman's profile ringed with stars marks the Liberty type; a Liberty walking towards you, torch raised, marks the Saint-Gaudens type. A large share of these coins crossed the Atlantic to settle trade, which is why they still turn up in European families today.
Liberty type: female profile facing left, hair in a bun held by a diadem reading “LIBERTY”, a circle of thirteen stars and the date below the bust; the initials “JBL” are engraved under the neck. Saint-Gaudens type: Liberty, standing, walks towards the viewer with a torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left; the Capitol appears small at her feet, rays spread out behind her, the word “LIBERTY” arches across the top, and the rim carries 46 stars, then 48 from 1912.
Liberty type: eagle bearing a shield, beneath an oval of stars, with the scroll “E PLURIBUS UNUM” and the circular legend “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”; the denomination reads “TWENTY D.” until 1876, then “TWENTY DOLLARS”. The motto “IN GOD WE TRUST” enters the oval in 1866. Saint-Gaudens type: eagle in full flight above a rising sun, with “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “TWENTY DOLLARS”; the religious motto only appears from 1908.
Identify the type first, then the date, and finally the mint mark. On a Liberty, it hides on the reverse, below the eagle; on a Saint-Gaudens, it sits on the obverse, just above the date. A coin with no letter comes from Philadelphia. The scarce dates come mostly from New Orleans (O) and Carson City (CC) for the first type, and from the last years of the second, which the 1933 melt almost wiped out.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1849 | Philadelphia | pattern | Pattern: a single known example, held by the Smithsonian. |
| 1850 | Philadelphia | over 1,000,000 | Start of regular striking. |
| 1850 | O | 141,000 | First New Orleans double eagle. |
| 1854 | O | 3,250 | Tiny mintage, very rare date. |
| 1856 | O | 2,250 | Smallest New Orleans mintage. |
| 1857 | S | n/a | Date linked to the wreck of the SS Central America. |
| 1861 | S | about 19,250 | Reverse designed by Paquet, withdrawn very quickly. |
| 1866-1876 | various | n/a | Type II: motto added, denomination “TWENTY D.”. |
| 1870 | CC | 3,789 | Lowest Carson City mintage. |
| 1877-1907 | various | n/a | Type III: denomination “TWENTY DOLLARS”. |
| 1886 | Philadelphia | about 1,000 | Very small circulation mintage. |
| 1904 | Philadelphia | 6,256,699 | Liberty type record, common date. |
| 1904 | S | 5,134,175 | Easy to find. |
| 1907 | Philadelphia | about 12,367 | High relief, date in Roman numerals (MCMVII). |
| 1907 | Philadelphia | 361,667 | Softened relief, Arabic numerals, no motto. |
| 1908 | Philadelphia | 4,271,551 | Struck without “IN GOD WE TRUST”. |
| 1908 | Philadelphia | 156,258 | Motto added during the year. |
| 1924 | Philadelphia | 4,323,500 | Very widespread date in Europe. |
| 1927 | D | 180,000 | Almost all melted, very rare. |
| 1928 | Philadelphia | 8,816,000 | Largest mintage of all $20 coins. |
| 1929 | Philadelphia | 1,779,750 | Rare, as most coins were melted. |
| 1933 | Philadelphia | 445,500 | Never issued; only one example may be legally owned. |
Figures from Wikipedia (en) for both the Liberty and the Saint-Gaudens, checked against PCGS CoinFacts (1907 high relief, 1927-D, 1933) and Heritage and Doug Winter notes (1854-O, 1856-O, 1870-CC). The 1907 high relief is given as 11,250 or 12,367 coins depending on the source. Only the most telling date and mint combinations are listed here.
The Liberty came in three versions. From 1850 to 1866, the reverse bears no motto and the denomination is shortened to “TWENTY D.”: this is Type I. In 1866, “IN GOD WE TRUST” appears above the eagle, opening Type II. From 1877, the denomination is spelled out in full, “TWENTY DOLLARS”: this is Type III, struck until 1907. Apart from these, note Anthony Paquet's reverse, used in San Francisco in 1861 and then dropped.
The Saint-Gaudens also comes in three stages. The first 1907 coins, in high relief, are dated MCMVII; several blows of the press were needed to bring up the design, hence their look of a small sculpture. Next come the lowered relief coins, dated in Arabic numerals and still without a motto. During 1908, an act of Congress had “IN GOD WE TRUST” added to the reverse. Finally, the admission of New Mexico and Arizona to the Union took the obverse from 46 to 48 stars in 1912: count them if the date is worn.
The double eagle is one of the most copied gold coins. Many fakes were produced in the 1960s and 1970s for gold buyers in the Middle East. These imitations often contain gold, and some even reach the official 33.44 g: scales alone therefore cannot settle the question.
Several signs should raise doubts: soft relief with rounded outlines; mushy engraver's initials or date numerals; a field dotted with small pits or tiny bumps; a lustre that is too bright, almost varnished; a gold colour unlike that of genuine coins. On rare dates, another fraud consists in engraving or erasing a mint mark on a genuine coin: the area around the letter then deserves a look under a loupe.
For a scarce date, a numismatist's opinion remains the safest way to reach a conclusion: see our coin valuation page.
The $10 gold eagle. It follows the same path (Liberty, then Indian head from 1907), but it weighs half as much and measures about 27 mm. Its reverse reads “TEN D.” or “TEN DOLLARS”.
Recent issues from the US Mint. In 2009, an ultra high relief Saint-Gaudens was struck in pure gold with the date MMIX: it is a modern collector coin. The American Gold Eagle, issued since 1986, reuses Saint-Gaudens's Liberty, but its reverse shows a family of eagles, and the ounce carries a $50 denomination.
Gilt reproductions. Sold as souvenirs, they copy both types, with or without the word “COPY”. Their weight stays well below 33.44 g.
Other large gold coins. The Mexican 50 pesos, heavier still with 37.5 g of fine gold, sometimes sits in the same box. The British sovereign, for its part, is much smaller.
On a Liberty, wear starts on the locks above the eye and the ear, then reaches the diadem, whose “LIBERTY” letters fade from the top. On the reverse, the eagle's head, neck and wing tops flatten first, until the feathers merge together.
On a Saint-Gaudens, check Liberty's breast and left knee, then her face and the torch. The tiny Capitol quickly loses its details. On the reverse, the feathers of the eagle's body and wing tell you how worn the coin is.
Many of these coins spent decades in bags of 250, deep in European bank vaults. They saw little use, but knocked against each other: small nicks in the field, knocks on the edge. For a collector, these marks often matter more than wear itself. Do not attempt any cleaning, whatever the temptation.
In 1849, Californian gold was pouring in and Congress decided to create a coin equal to two $10 eagles. James Longacre engraved its design, struck in volume from 1850. Philadelphia was not alone: San Francisco, New Orleans and Carson City, right next to the Nevada mines, also struck double eagles. From the 1880s, bags of 250 coins were shipped to Europe to settle trade balances.
In the early 20th century, Theodore Roosevelt, who found American coins unattractive, entrusted the design of the $20 to Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The sculptor died in August 1907 before finishing the work; Charles Barber then reduced the relief so that a single strike would do.
In 1933, Franklin Roosevelt first banned gold exports, then required private citizens to hand in their gold coins to the Treasury. The $20 coins dated 1933 were never distributed, and much of the recent output went to the melting pot. The coins lying in European banks escaped this melt and came back onto the market from the 1940s.
The $20 coin was never legal tender in France, and no historical fact ties it specifically to Cannes. The French Riviera nonetheless has a long American history: on 15 August 1944, the Allied troops, including several United States divisions, landed on the coast between Toulon and Cannes, and the town was liberated on 24 August. These events do not explain why double eagles are found in local families, which owes more to the shipments of gold to European banks. If you own one, you can show it at the Cannes shop to have its type, date and mint identified.
Look at the obverse. A head in profile ringed with stars means a Liberty (1850-1907). A full-length woman walking towards you, torch in hand, means a Saint-Gaudens (1907-1933).
They show the mint: O for New Orleans, S for San Francisco, CC for Carson City, D for Denver. With no letter, the coin comes from Philadelphia. Some combinations, such as 1870-CC or 1927-D, are rare.
No. It is a collector issue from the US Mint, struck in 2009 in pure gold and ultra high relief, after Saint-Gaudens's design. The Roman-numeral date MCMVII, by contrast, belongs to the 1907 high relief.
No. Many imitations made in the 1960s and 1970s contain gold and come close to 33.44 g. The sharpness of the relief, initials and date, together with the look of the field, are what allow a judgement; if in doubt, ask a numismatist.