1858-O Coronet $20 Double Eagle
The story of the 1858-O Coronet double eagle is similar to other $20 gold coins struck by the New Orleans Mint during the years leading up to the Civil War.
Gold deposits at the southernmost mint declined sharply after the San Francisco Mint opened its doors in 1854. Accordingly, only small numbers of double eagles were produced in New Orleans from that year forward, before finally ceasing coinage operations altogether in 1861, a few weeks after hostilities commenced.(1)
In 1858, the mintage was just 35,250 pieces. Relatively small, but the most of any NOLA $20 gold coin from that era. The 1858-O saw heavy duty, circulating broadly in domestic and international business.
The 1858-O is today rare in any condition and vigorously pursued by collectors. As odd as it may sound to us today, the 1858-O, as well as its New Orleans contemporaries, were ignored by numismatists for the better part of a century because of low interest in collecting coins by mintmark.(2)
Coin collecting changed dramatically following the Gold Recall of 1933, which largely banned private ownership of gold. The order did, however, permit collectors to retain rare gold coins. Certainly the 1858-O double eagle qualified as a rarity. Investors saw this as an avenue to continue buying gold legally, generating increased demand for scarce, large denomination gold coins.
About 307 survivors of the 1858-O exist today.(3) Although this is not a rarity on par with the 1854-O or 1856-O double eagles, finding an example for sale is a challenging task. The value trend charts for the 1858-O prove a sustained demand from buyers for decades. Expecting a comparable future performance seems like a winning bet.
| Estimated survivors in all grades: 307 ?
The survivor estimate from PCGS represents an average of one or more experts' opinions as to how many examples survive of a particular coin in all grades. Survival estimates include coins that are raw, certified by PCGS, and certified by other grading services. Learn more at PCGS. |
| PCGS Rarity Scale: 6.3 ?
The 'PCGS CoinFacts Rarity Scale' assesses the relative rarity of all U.S. coins, based on estimated surviving examples. The scale runs from 1.0 to 10.0. The higher the number, the rarer the coin.
Learn more at PCGS. |
| Click HERE to check for availability on eBay** |
Preview of eBay selection (if none in preview, there should be a few after hitting HERE link above):
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| Trendline Avg = 18.79 | BETTER |
Historic Value Trend Charts:
| Last updated 10-9-24 |  |
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| Compare to Common Date Coin of Same Type | ||
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Sources
1. Heritage Auctions. 1858-O $20 MS61. Jul 2022 Auction.
2. Heritage Auctions. 1858-O $20 MS62. Jan 2011 Auction.
3. PCGS. 1858-O $20 (Regular Strike).
**Many very fine coin dealers sell on eBay. At any point in time, there may be over one million search results for United States coins. This includes quite a few of the recommendations on our Key Date Coin List.
If you’re thinking about purchasing a rare coin, eBay is certainly worth a look. For your convenience, the links from this site to eBay are coded to bring up only coins certified by PCGS and NGC.
As is always, always the case, never buy a valuable coin from a seller whose trustworthiness cannot be verified. Learn more about this at our chapter Best Places to Buy Coins, which also has a section on doing business on eBay.
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Coin images by Stack's Bowers Galleries.
