Values
A Liberty double eagle is twenty dollars of gold with a coronet head. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The mintage chart leaves G, VF, and MS-63 blank. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not cover this coin. The Saint-Gaudens chart is not a price for this head.
If you have one and want to sell it, start with how to sell a coin collection. The Saint-Gaudens double eagle is the next twenty-dollar type. The gold dollar starts in the same year and is a different denomination.
Key Dates
No key list was copied onto this page. Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3 are names. They are not rows without a table.
Errors
No Liberty table. The double eagle article used here does not print Liberty Head annual cells. The chart stays empty.
Saint-Gaudens numbers. High relief and the 2009 ultra high relief are on the Saint-Gaudens page. They are not Liberty rows.
Motto types. No motto, then TWENTY D., then the long motto, are the usual Liberty split. Naming them is not the same as counting them.
The photograph is an 1877 coin with the motto, from the National Numismatic Collection. It is not a Type 1. Do not treat that plate as every Liberty double eagle.
Compare the coin to the NGC Coin Explorer double eagle pages. We do not host their plates. The explorer is not the mintage source for this chart.
Varieties
Collectors split the Liberty head by the reverse motto and the way TWENTY D. is written. Naming the split is not the same as counting it. The high relief of 1907 is Saint-Gaudens, on the other page.
- No mottoThe first reverse has no IN GOD WE TRUST. The plate on this page is an 1877 with the motto. It is not this reverse.
- Motto, TWENTY D.The motto arrives, and the value is still written TWENTY D. Guides treat that as the middle type.
- Long mottoThe later reverse writes the value out. Read the reverse before you decide the type. This page does not invent a count for each.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
Liberty Head double eagles, 1849 through 1907. Philadelphia and the branch mints.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|
Mintage: the note under this table names the page that printed each count. These figures are not an NGC Coin Explorer extract and they are not the 1974 Mint pamphlet.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-21. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: PCGS CoinFacts (2026-08-21). Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
The Wikipedia double eagle article does not print a Liberty Head year table. This chart stays empty. Saint-Gaudens counts stay on the other page. Proofs stay off.
The chart is empty on purpose. The Wikipedia article does not print a Liberty Head year table. Saint-Gaudens counts stay on the other page. Proofs stay off.
The grade columns are empty because this site has no NGC guide extract for this coin.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance. The motto types are not given one borrowed thickness on this page.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | Not printed |
| Thickness | Not printed |
| Weight | Not printed |
| Composition | Not printed on a cited catalog page |
| Edge | Not printed on a cited catalog page |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
No catalog page used for the Liberty double eagle prints a thickness. Diameter, weight, and thickness stay Not printed. The Saint-Gaudens planchet is not copied onto this coin.
Grading
A Liberty double eagle wears first on the coronet and the hair over the ear.
The reverse motto changes across the run. The standing Liberty with a torch is the other page.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The coronet | Liberty’s coronet and the hair above the ear. | Those high points flatten while the rim can still look sharp. |
| Eagle and shield | The eagle and the shield on the reverse. | The reverse is part of the grade. Read it with the coronet. |
| The motto | No motto, then the way TWENTY D. is written, then the later motto. | Collectors split the reverse. This page does not yet have a count for each split. |
| Mint mark | O, S, CC, or D. | On a late coin D can be Denver. Do not use the gold-dollar Dahlonega rule here. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call a Liberty double eagle if you already know the type.
- The coronet and the hair are gone.
- The date may be a shadow. Do not scrape it.
- Shine does not make this a better coin.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points on this Liberty double eagle are already slick.
- The coronet and the hair are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A with motto is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- The coronet and the hair are flat. The type is an outline, not a portrait.
- The rim should be full enough to hold the legend.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail sits away from the coronet and the hair.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to “see it better.”
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- The coronet and the hair are outlined and flat — no real sharpness yet.
- The rest of the coin can look busier than the grade.
- The date should be clear. The mint mark should be too, if there is one.
VF
Very Fine
The type is doing real work. The coronet and the hair still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on the coronet and the hair. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular with motto is still this grade if it is this worn.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on the coronet and the hair.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade. Trust the high points.
- The date should be sharp.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on the coronet and the hair.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub on those high points is still rub.
- A bright coin with a slick high point is still slick.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on the coronet and the hair.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed-up coin is still chewed-up.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on the coronet and the hair.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean Liberty double eagle for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on the coronet and the hair.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date or a white field.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
Proof Liberty double eagles exist. This page does not invent a PR price grid. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations do not apply to this gold coin. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
The Liberty double eagle is the twenty-dollar coin of 1849 through 1907, designed by James B. Longacre. A coronet Liberty faces left. The reverse is an eagle and a shield, and the legend changes across the run. Saint-Gaudens replaced this coin in 1907. That replacement has its own page and its own chart.
The photograph is the 1877 motto type. It shows both sides. It does not show the no-motto reverse.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
The double eagle was authorized with the gold dollar in 1849, to turn California gold into a large coin. Longacre’s Liberty head lasted until 1907. Collectors divide it into three reverses: no motto, then a motto with TWENTY D. written one way, then the later motto style. Branch mints at New Orleans, San Francisco, Carson City, and Denver struck pieces in different parts of that run. This page does not yet have a cell for each of those mint-years.
The Wikipedia article spends its numeric sentences on the Saint-Gaudens high relief and on the 2009 issue. Those sentences are used on the other page. They are not recycled here as Liberty mintages.
Design
Obverse: Liberty in a coronet, by James B. Longacre. Reverse: eagle and shield. Read the reverse for the motto. A mint mark, when present, is the branch. CC is Carson City. D on this later run can be Denver, which did not exist for the gold dollar. Do not carry the Dahlonega rule onto a twentieth-century double eagle.
Look at the coronet and the hair over the ear. Those are the high points. Bag marks on a heavy gold coin are normal. A wipe that hides them is the damage.
People Also Ask
Why is the chart empty?
The Wikipedia double eagle article does not print a Liberty Head year-by-year table. Saint-Gaudens figures in that article belong on the other page.
What are the Liberty types?
Collectors split the Liberty head by the reverse motto and the way TWENTY D. is written. This page names that split. It does not invent a count for each type.
Is 1907 high relief a Liberty coin?
No. The high relief is Saint-Gaudens. It is on the Saint-Gaudens chart, not here.
How much is a Liberty double eagle worth?
This page does not print guide prices. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not include this series.
Collector Considerations
If the figure is standing Liberty with a torch, you are holding a Saint-Gaudens coin. Use that page. If the head is the coronet, stay here.
The 1877 plate is a with-motto coin. A no-motto reverse will not match it. Check the words before you decide the type.
The Saint-Gaudens double eagle chart is the one with rows. The eagle is the ten-dollar coin.
A Final Word
The Liberty double eagle page is the coronet head and an empty chart. The Saint-Gaudens counts were not moved here to fill the gap.
When a Liberty year table is cited, the types can be separate rows. They are not separate rows yet.