Here an old double eagle with a few miles under it's belt. Maybe it survived the great San Francisco earthquake. Maybe Enrico Caruso had it in his pocket when he sang while the buildings fell. Who know where it's been... Bone
That is a neat one...you don't see many lower grade gold coins... What do you grade it??...I would say VG?? Speedy
Oh, I think it's F-VF as my pictures of gold using a 160watt bulb really picks up the rubs and bumbs. B
I agree the back is a F...but the front just didn't do it for me....but your right...it could be the photo and besides...you have the coin in hand!! Speedy
I like your description of the coin bonedigger. Who knows the story of where this coin as traveled. Mint State coins are nice but a circulated coin from the 1800s is a lot of fun to own and they are more affordable.
I think the worn coins should be more valuable than the fresh ones. C'mon, with a mystery like that, who would ever want a boring old proof! :kewl:
Why is that coin named Double Eagle? And as far as how much the coin was worth way back in 1898, was it worth more in gold or was it only worth the $20 face on the coin? I don't know much about gold coins. Thanks.
As I understand it, the highest denomination coin the us produced back when the mint started was the $10 gold. On the reverse was a very detailed eagle, and somehow that became the name. So, by association, the $5 gold became the half eagle and the $2.50 gold became the quarter eagle. Later, when the $20 gold coin was first minted in 1849, it became the double eagle. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.
No. Few proofs were ever minted. Sometimes none were minted and sometimes only a dozen or so in a particular year. Almost all DEs were meant for general circulation.
They were made for circulation alright - but they rarely circulated. The vast majority of them were held by banks as part of their reserves.
