What Makes the 1849 Liberty Head Double Eagle So Famous?

The 1849 Liberty Head Double Eagle is the coin that started America's entire $20 gold series, and it might be the strangest "first" in U.S. coinage history: only one example is known to exist, and it has lived at the Smithsonian for well over a century. It never circulated. It was never meant to. It was a test piece, a pattern coin, struck to show the Mint what the new $20 gold piece would look like before full production began.

That makes the 1849 Liberty Head Double Eagle one of the most talked-about rarities in American numismatics, even though almost nobody will ever hold one. Everything that came after it, the millions of Double Eagles struck from 1850 to 1907, trace their design straight back to this single coin.

What Is the 1849 Liberty Head Double Eagle?

It is the first pattern struck for the U.S. $20 gold coin, made by the Mint before regular production started in 1850. A pattern coin is a test strike, not a coin meant for the public, and that is exactly what the 1849 piece was.

James B. Longacre, the Mint's Chief Engraver, designed it by scaling up his earlier Liberty head portrait from the gold dollar to fit a much bigger $20 coin. Only one 1849 Double Eagle is known today, and it sits in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, not in a private collection or a dealer's case.

Why Did the Double Eagle Exist in the First Place?

The Double Eagle exists because gold from California was arriving at the Mint faster than the country's coin denominations could handle it. Before 1849, the largest U.S. gold coin was the $10 eagle, which was simply too small for moving the volume of gold pouring out of the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Congress solved the problem by authorizing a new $20 gold piece in 1849. The Mint struck a small run of pattern coins that same year to test the design, then began full production in 1850.

What Does the 1849 Double Eagle Look Like?

The obverse shows Longacre's Liberty head, wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY, surrounded by thirteen stars. The reverse carries a heraldic eagle with a shield on its chest, holding arrows and an olive branch, with the denomination written as TWENTY D.

That "no motto" reverse is a detail worth remembering. The first version of the design, known as Type 1, carried no religious motto at all. IN GOD WE TRUST would not appear on the coin until 1866, sixteen years after regular production started.

How Rare Is the 1849 Liberty Head Double Eagle?

It is about as rare as a U.S. coin can get: exactly one known example exists. That single survivor is the reason the date carries so much weight among collectors, even though it was never struck for circulation.

Compare that to the regular Type 1 series that followed. From 1850 to 1866, the Mint struck over 23.5 million business-strike Double Eagles, plus an estimated 375 proof coins for the entire type. The 1849 pattern isn't rare because of a small mintage number on a chart. It's rare because it is, quite literally, one of one.

The 1849 Double Eagle never had a mintage in the normal sense. It was a working prototype, and the Mint likely produced only a handful before the surviving example ended up preserved rather than spent. That single coin is now the anchor point for an entire 58-year coin series.

How Did the Regular 1850-1907 Liberty Head Double Eagle Series Evolve?

The series that grew out of the 1849 pattern changed twice over its 58-year run, mostly around the reverse wording and the motto. Collectors group the whole run into design types based on those changes.

If you're building a set of Liberty Head Double Eagles, knowing which type you're looking at matters as much as the date. A common Type 3 coin from the 1880s trades very differently than an early Type 1 piece from the 1850s, even though both are technically the same series.

How Much Gold Is in a Liberty Head Double Eagle?

A standard Liberty Head Double Eagle weighs about 33.4 grams and is 90% gold, 10% copper, which works out to roughly 0.9675 troy ounces of pure gold. It measures 34.0 mm across and has a reeded edge, meaning small ridges cut into the rim rather than a smooth border.

That gold content is what gives every regular-issue Double Eagle its base value, no matter how common or scarce the date is. At the time of writing, with gold trading at about $4,602 an ounce, the melt value of a standard coin works out to roughly $4,452 (0.9675 x $4,602). That figure applies to ordinary circulated Double Eagles, not to the unique 1849 pattern, which is valued as a historic object rather than a bullion coin.

For anyone comparing melt values across different coins or metals, our gold and silver price charts update with live spot prices so you can check current numbers before buying or selling.

What Is a Liberty Head Double Eagle Worth Today?

Value comes down to date, mintmark, condition, and how the coin looks under a light, not just its gold content. Common dates in worn condition usually trade close to melt value plus a modest premium, while scarce dates and coins in higher grades can sell for far more than their gold weight alone.

The one confirmed 1849 example isn't something you'll find priced against gold spot at all. PCGS notes an eBay sale of a piece described as an 1849 Double Eagle for $2,490 in 2022, but that number reflects a specific listing, not the value of the true Smithsonian coin, which has never traded hands as private property. If you want a piece of this history you can actually own, a random year Double Eagle from the regular 1850-1907 run is the practical way to hold Longacre's design in your hand.

How Can You Tell a Real 1849 Double Eagle From a Replica?

You start by checking the basics: weight, diameter, and metal content. A genuine standard Liberty Head Double Eagle should weigh close to 33.4 grams, measure 34.0 mm across, and contain 90% gold. Anything noticeably off on those numbers is a red flag.

• Confirm the coin is a pattern, restrike, replica, or regular circulation issue before assuming it's an original 1849
• Weigh and measure the piece against the standard specs for the series
• Be cautious of any "1849 Double Eagle" sold casually online, since the real one is a museum object, not a private collectible
• Watch for altered dates on later coins, since a re-punched or re-engraved "9" can turn a common date into a fake rarity
• Have expensive dates and questionable pieces evaluated by a knowledgeable dealer or a grading service before you pay a premium

If you're unsure what you're holding, whether it's a family heirloom or something bought at auction, selling gold coins for cash starts with a straightforward evaluation, and getting that right protects you from over- or under-valuing a coin.

What Are Common Misconceptions About the 1849 Double Eagle?

The biggest one is thinking any coin dated 1849 and marked $20 is a normal circulated coin. It isn't. The real 1849 Double Eagle is a one-of-a-kind pattern, and most items marketed under that date online are modern replicas, tribute pieces, or later coins with a different story entirely.

Another common mix-up is assuming every Double Eagle weighs a full ounce of gold. It doesn't. The coin weighs about 33.4 grams total, and only about 0.9675 troy ounces of that is pure gold, with the rest being copper for durability. People also sometimes assume the 1849 coin had a large mintage simply because the series that followed it did. In reality, the pattern's rarity comes entirely from being a unique survivor, not from any printed mintage figure.

How Does the Liberty Head Double Eagle Compare to Other Historic U.S. Gold Coins?

The Double Eagle shares Longacre's design language with several other 19th-century U.S. gold coins, including smaller denominations he also worked on. If you're curious how other Longacre-era gold pieces compare in size and history, our writeup on the 2.50 Indian Head gold coin covers a related but very different chapter of that story.

What sets the Double Eagle apart is scale. At 33.4 grams and nearly a full ounce of gold, it was the largest regular U.S. gold coin of its era, built specifically to move big value efficiently during the Gold Rush economy. Smaller gold coins like the dollar, quarter eagle, and half eagle served everyday transactions, while the Double Eagle was closer to a bank note made of metal.

Whether you're looking to add a piece of this history to your own collection or thinking about parting with one, our shop carries Liberty Head Double Eagles from the regular 1850-1907 run, and if you're ready to sell instead, you can mail in your coins from anywhere in the country or stop by our Salem, Oregon location if you're local, using our guide to selling gold coins to get started.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. Wikipedia - Liberty Head Double Eagle overview
2. PCGS CoinFacts - 1849 $20 pattern listing
3. Stack's Bowers - Liberty Head Double Eagle type guide
4. Smithsonian Institution - 1849 pattern Double Eagle object record
5. United States Mint - historical legislation on the Double Eagle
6. Stack's Bowers - Double Eagle history and design notes

Featured image courtesy of PCGS