Thread: 1886 Double Eagle Gold Coin

Hi,







I have attached a scanned image of a coin my mother has had for over 40 years now. She received it as a gift from my Grandfather and she has now passed it to me.

I have searched the net and all sites I came across indicate the mintage of this coin in 1886 was limited to a few thousand. Most sites also state that in 1886, that Philadelphia was the only location to strike these coins in 1886 and that the marking under the eagle would be blank. However, the coin I have has a "S" under the eagle. A couple of sites state that in 1886 San Francisco didn't make an 1886 Double Eagle, but I do see them making them in 1885 and 1887.

Can anyone clarify the mintage of the 1886 Double Eagle Gold coin. Were they produced in San Francisco in addition to Philadelphia and other sites?
Does anyone know the value of this coin?

Thanks.
J

I don't know a lot about those, but something doesn't look right about that coin.
Someone with extensive knowledge will surely be along shortly to address your questions.

What jumps out at me is....
The tiara is nearly touching the rim on yours and on ones I've seen are far lower.
The lines of the hair look a lot more narrow, too.

Here is a link to an auction with an 1887-S so you might see what I'm looking at.
http://cgi.ebay.com/1887-S-20-00-LIB...QQcmdZViewItem
(the coin in the auction is ugly & cleaned)

BTW....

I really hope I am wrong.

do you have bigger pics

According to the research I've done there were NO 1886-S Double Eagles struck in San Francisco.

Ben

Sorry to tell you that it's a counterfeit. And I thought that based just upon the obverse image - the detail is wrong for a genuine coin. The S mint-mark, which was not used on genuine examples from 1886, confirmed my initial belief.

Howdy suite - Welcome to the Forum !!

Your pics are a bit small to be able to judge the coin but I can tell you this. You have one of three things - an altered coin which I think unlikely, a outright fake, or a great rarity that no one has ever heard of.

Just an opinion, but the most likely explanation is the coin is a fake. It would need to be looked at in person by someone who knows these coins to make sure.

This is the biggest I get when scanned.
I have seen other sites that have auctioned a 1886, but the only difference is the "S' under the eagle. It may be the quality of the scan, but the crown reaches mid way between the stars.

Thanks for your help. If you know any names or places I can contact that would be more knowledable about the double eagle it would be appreciated.
I have GOOGLED everything imaginable, but i seem to find the same thing about limited mintage, but nothing to explain why the "S" mark is there when all sites state none were minted in San Fran in 1886.

I will try and take pics or short vid if I can...the quality is not as good.
I will also try to see if i can scan a better and bigger image.


Thanks J

I guarantee the coin is a counterfeit and I don't make such statements unless I am 100% certain. I hate to see you hold out any false hope that it's genuine.

Thanks all for your thoughts...
I wondered whether it could be real when I couldn't find anything about it being minted in San Fran.

One site said there were fakes or imititaion made of these coins in Europe, but they never stated how you can tell.

They also mentioned alterations, but they altered it by REMOVING the mint mark.

Anyways.. If anyone does know a person or place it would be great if you can pass that info. I am in Toronto.

Thanks A bunch

j

J - Mark Feld is one of the most knowledgeable and highly respected people there is in numismatics. If he says he's sure it's fake - you can take that to the bank.

I'm sorry to say that I agree with Mark and GDJMSP.

The head is very conspicuously oversized. It extends almost to the rim. On legit specimens, it is well within the stars, with the coronet near star 7.

Less obvious is the oversized eagle on the reverse. On a real $20, the banner with "E PLURIBUS" is well apart from the denomination. On the coin in question, the banner almost touches the T in TWENTY.

http://coinfacts.com/double_eagles/l...with_motto.htm

Most importantly... there were no 1886-S $20s.

FWIW, here's a real coin to compare it to:

you know, one of the things I am learning about counterfeit coins is this: Typically there is something wrong about the coin that is obvious so that the counterfeiter is able to tell his/her work at a glance so as not to ever "buy" any of their counterfeits back. This coin has a wrong date and mintmark combination. I have a really nice 1838 lettered edge bust half. problem is... they stopped lettering the edge in 1836

This is not a hard and fast rule, but it is true of many counterfeits made in the late 19th century.

p.s. the thing that immediately struck me with the OP's coin was the size/placement of the stars on the obverse (too big and too close to dentils). Liberty's portrait also looked slightly "long-jawed" for lack of a better term.