LOS ANGELES, CA.- A rare U.S. gold coin from the first year of the American Civil War will be sold in a public auction on Thursday, April 6, 2023, by Rare Collectibles TV . The Liberty Head design Double Eagle ($20 denomination U.S. gold coin) is one of the finest known surviving examples of its kind struck in 1861 at the San Francisco Mint.

It is authenticated and graded Mint State 62 by Professional Coin Grading Service.

“Only 65 examples are known today in uncirculated condition and less than 1,700 are known in any grade. This mint condition coin is one of the best,” said Rick Tomaska, Co-Founder of Rare Collectibles TV.

When the Civil War started in April 1861, the federal government suspended specie payments in coins or bullion, such as the Double Eagle coins, and did not resume coin payments for its debts until 1879.

“While the ramifications of the Civil War and suspension of specie payments greatly affected all United States coinage, gold production at the Philadelphia Mint was among the hardest hit. A precipitous drop was witnessed as the Philadelphia Mint went from producing over 5.5 million gold coins in 1861 to a cumulative total of half that through war’s end with only 2.3 million gold coins struck between 1862 and 1865,” explained Tomaska.

“The total mintage for one-ounce gold Double Eagles at the San Francisco Mint in 1861 was 768,000, the smallest mintage of the $20 denomination gold pieces struck there during the Civil War. The drop in production at the Philadelphia Mint mixed with the New Orleans, Louisiana, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Dahlonega, Georgia mint facilities taken over by Confederate forces in 1861 meant the San Francisco Mint had to pull more than its fair share of weight for the nation,” he explained.

Bidding for the historic coin will open at $47,000 and bidding increments will be $1,000. Additional information is available at www.RareCollectibleTV.com/blog/1861-s-liberty-head-gold-double-eagle-pcgs-ms62.html.

The auction will be held on Thursday, April 6, at 5 pm Pacific / 8 pm Eastern on April 6 online at www.RareCollectiblesTV.com/watch-live-tv and at www.YouTube.com/@RareCollectiblesTV/streams. It will also be available on DirecTV channel 222, Dish channel 85, and Spectrum Shop channel Zeal 1.