Why the 1861 Paquet Reverse Double Eagle Is So Rare Today, Truly

The 1861 Paquet Reverse Double Eagle is a $20 gold coin born from a design experiment that the U.S. Mint reversed within weeks of starting it. Assistant engraver Anthony C. Paquet reworked the back of the coin with taller, thinner lettering, and the Mint used it just long enough to strike two coins in Philadelphia and roughly 19,250 in San Francisco before officials shut the project down. What survived is now one of the great rarity stories in American gold coinage, headlined by a Philadelphia coin so scarce that only two examples are known to exist today.

This is not just a coin with a strange backstory. It sits at the center of Civil War history, Mint politics, and modern record-setting auctions, all wrapped into one $20 gold piece. Here's what makes it matter, how to tell one from a common 1861 double eagle, and what it might be worth if you ever come across one.

What Is the 1861 Paquet Reverse Double Eagle?

It's a $20 Liberty Head double eagle struck briefly in 1861 with a reverse design modified by Mint engraver Anthony C. Paquet. The front, or obverse, kept James B. Longacre's original Liberty Head design. Paquet changed the back, giving it noticeably taller and slimmer lettering along with a different border layout around the rim.

The change looked small on paper but it changed the whole feel of the coin. Regular 1861 double eagles have the standard Longacre reverse, while Paquet reverse coins stand out the moment you compare the two side by side.

Why Did the Mint Change the Reverse Design in 1861?

Mint officials pulled the Paquet reverse because they worried the narrow rim would wear down too fast in daily use. Mint Director James Ross Snowden made the call and ordered the design stopped almost as soon as it started, and the timing created two very different outcomes at the two mints that were using it.

The slow-travel telegraph story is part of why this coin is so famous. Philadelphia got the stop order almost right away and only managed to strike two coins before the recall landed. San Francisco was farther from Washington and kept striking Paquet reverse double eagles long enough to release thousands into circulation before word caught up.

This same Civil War year produced other coins collectors chase for their scarcity and survival stories. The 1861 Indian Head Cent is another example of a coin from this period that became rare simply because of what was happening in the country at the time.

How Many 1861 Paquet Reverse Double Eagles Exist Today?

Only 2 Philadelphia examples of the 1861 Paquet Reverse Double Eagle are known to survive, making it one of the rarest coins in United States gold coinage. The San Francisco branch mint issue, by contrast, had about 19,250 coins struck and released before the recall reached that mint, so surviving examples are far more available even though they're still a genuine rarity.

The gap between the two mint issues is the whole story of this coin. Philadelphia's near-total destruction of its Paquet run created an ultra-rarity, while San Francisco's larger release means collectors actually have a realistic shot at owning one, even if it still takes real money to do it.

How Do You Identify a Paquet Reverse Double Eagle?

Look at the lettering on the reverse first. Paquet reverse coins have letters in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and TWENTY D. that are visibly taller and thinner than the shorter, wider letters found on a standard 1861 Longacre reverse double eagle.

• Compare the letter height on "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" against a known regular-reverse 1861 double eagle
• Check the border and rim, since Paquet's version uses a narrower, more compact arrangement near the edge
• Confirm the mintmark location to know whether you might have a Philadelphia coin (no mintmark) or a San Francisco coin (small "S")
• Have any suspected Paquet piece reviewed by a professional grading service before assuming what you have

This kind of subtle design shift is a good reminder that small engraving choices can carry huge weight in coin collecting. If you're curious how mints handle design tweaks in general, our post on reverse proof coin differences covers how modern reverse changes get made and marketed, which is a useful comparison point even though that's a different era of coinage.

How Much Is an 1861 Paquet Reverse Double Eagle Worth?

The Philadelphia 1861 Paquet Reverse Double Eagle has sold for as much as $7.2 million in top grade, making it one of the most valuable U.S. gold coins ever sold at auction. The 1861-S San Francisco issue sells for far less, but strong examples still bring serious five-figure to six-figure-or-higher prices depending on grade and condition.

The Philadelphia coin's price history reads almost like fiction. One example reportedly sold for just $26 in the 1875 Mendes Cohen sale, then resurfaced generations later selling for $345,000 in 2001 and $1.61 million in 2006, before the finest known specimen brought $7.2 million in a 2021 Heritage Auctions sale. That's the kind of jump that turns a coin into a headline.

What Is the Melt Value of a Double Eagle Gold Coin?

A double eagle contains about 0.9675 troy ounces of pure gold, since the coin is 90% gold and 10% copper with a total weight of 33.436 grams. At a gold spot price of about $4,408 an ounce at the time of writing, that puts the melt value of the gold alone at roughly $4,265, before any collector premium.

For an 1861 Paquet Reverse Double Eagle, melt value is basically beside the point. Rarity and history, not bullion content, are what push the Philadelphia coin into millions and the San Francisco coin well past its gold weight in value.

If you're weighing a common-date double eagle rather than a rare variety, understanding melt value still matters, since it sets the floor under any gold coin's price no matter how worn or common it is.

1861 Paquet vs Regular 1861 Liberty Head Double Eagle: What's the Difference?

The regular 1861 Liberty Head double eagle uses James B. Longacre's original reverse and is common enough to be an accessible piece for most collectors. The Paquet reverse variety is a short-lived design swap that only appears on a handful of Philadelphia coins and a larger but still limited San Francisco run, and it carries a massive rarity premium over the standard issue.

Collectors building a Liberty Head double eagle set often start with common dates before working toward rarities like this one. Browsing Liberty Head Double Eagle gold coins is a reasonable way to see how a standard-date example compares in price and appearance to what a Paquet reverse coin looks like in photos and auction listings.

What Should Collectors Watch Out for When Buying One?

Authentication and grading matter more here than almost any other U.S. gold coin, because the Paquet reverse issue is a known target for altered or misdescribed coins. Given the values involved, a coin claiming to be a Philadelphia Paquet needs serious scrutiny before any money changes hands.

• Confirm mint origin first, since Philadelphia and San Francisco values are worlds apart
• Ask for a professional grading service opinion, especially for anything claimed to be Philadelphia struck
• Study provenance and past auction records, since both known Philadelphia coins have long, documented ownership histories
• Compare lettering height and border style against verified images before trusting a seller's description
• Treat any "too good to be true" Paquet listing at a low price with real caution

Provenance, meaning who owned a coin and when, plays an outsized role for the Philadelphia Paquet specifically, since collectors can trace both known coins through more than a century of sales. That kind of documented history is part of what let a coin once sold for $26 eventually command $7.2 million.

If you're shopping for a more accessible Liberty Head double eagle to start or round out a collection, a random-year Liberty Head double eagle gives you the same design family and gold content without the six or seven figure price tag attached to the Paquet rarity.

Common Misconceptions About the Paquet Reverse Double Eagle

Not every 1861 double eagle is a Paquet reverse coin, and mixing up the two issues is one of the most common mistakes new collectors make. Here's what tends to get misunderstood.

• "All 1861 double eagles are Paquet reverses" is false; the Paquet design only appears on a small subset of coins from that year
• "The Philadelphia Paquet was struck in large numbers" is false; only two examples are known today
• "Paquet and regular San Francisco double eagles are worth the same" is false; the Paquet reverse carries a major rarity premium
• "The coin was only a pattern, never meant for circulation" is not accurate; it was struck for actual circulation, especially in San Francisco
• "The design was pulled for legal reasons" is false; the concern was practical wear on the narrow border, not any legal issue

If you're holding a gold coin from this era and aren't sure what you have, getting a second opinion before buying or selling saves a lot of guesswork.

Whether you're hunting for a Liberty Head double eagle to add to a collection or thinking about parting with gold coins you already own, our shop carries Liberty Head 20 double eagle gold coins worth a look, and if selling is more your speed, you can mail in coins through our gold coin selling program or stop by our Salem, Oregon location in person.

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