United States | |
| Value | 20 United States dollars |
|---|---|
| Mass | 33.431 g |
| Diameter | 34.1 mm (1.342 in) |
| Edge | reeded |
| Composition | 90% gold, 10% copper |
| Gold | .96750 troy oz |
| Years of minting | 1849 (pattern only) 1850–1907 (regular issues) |
| Mint marks | CC, D, O, S. Found immediately below the eagle on the reverse. Philadelphia Mint specimens lack mint mark. |
| Obverse | |
| Design | Head of Liberty |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
| Design date | 1849 |
| Design discontinued | 1907 |
| Reverse | |
| Design | Heraldic eagle. Type I |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
| Design date | 1849 |
| Design discontinued | 1866 |
| Design | Type II, with "In God We Trust" |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
| Design date | 1866 |
| Design discontinued | 1876 |
| Design | Type III, with "Dollars" spelled out |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
| Design date | 1877 |
| Design discontinued | 1907 |
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The Liberty Head double eagle or Coronet double eagle is an American twenty-dollar gold piece struck as a pattern coin in 1849, and for commerce from 1850 to 1907. It was designed by Mint of the United States Chief Engraver James B. Longacre.
The largest denomination of United States coin authorized by the Mint Act of 1792 was the eagle, or ten-dollar piece. The large amount of bullion being brought east after the discovery of gold in California in the 1840s caused Congress to consider new denominations of gold coinage. The gold dollar and double eagle were the result. After considerable infighting at the Philadelphia Mint, Chief Engraver James B. Longacre designed the double eagle, and it began to be issued for commerce in 1850. Only one 1849 double eagle is known to survive and it rests in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian.
The coin was immediately successful; merchants and banks used it in trade. It was struck until replaced by the Saint-Gaudens double eagle in 1907, and many were melted when President Franklin D. Roosevelt recalled gold coins from the public in 1933. Millions of double eagles were sent overseas in international transactions throughout its run to be melted or placed in bank vaults. Many of the latter have now been repatriated to feed the demand from collectors and those who desire to hold gold.