1873 Closed 3 Liberty Head Gold $20 Double Eagle (Coronet Head)

Of the 1,709,825 double eagles struck at Philadelphia in 1873, only a small fraction left the dies bearing the Closed 3 date logotype. Mint Engraver William Barber cut the year's date punches in late 1872, and his rendering of the 3 placed the upper and lower knobs so close together that the digit could be mistaken for an 8 at a glance. The variety's surviving population reflects how briefly those punches stayed in service: PCGS CoinFacts estimates only about 687 examples extant across all grades, ranking the Closed 3 among the scarcer Philadelphia Type 2 dates alongside the 1862, 1868, and 1871.

A formal complaint from Chief Coiner A. Loudon Snowden, dated January 18, 1873, reached Mint Director James Pollock and prompted an order to recut the punches with a clearly open 3. Production at Philadelphia and San Francisco shifted to the new logotype shortly after, leaving the Closed 3 as the earlier and considerably rarer Philly variant. The Carson City output of 1873 used only the Closed 3 logotype, while both Philadelphia and San Francisco are known with both styles. Authentication at PCGS or NGC is essential, since the variety attribution must appear on the holder label to command its premium.

Strike quality on these Philadelphia Type 2 pieces is generally sharp, though heavy bag handling means the bulk of survivors land in VF through AU. PCGS estimates only about 27 examples in uncirculated grades, with none certified above MS62; the finest tier of three MS62 coins includes one recovered from the 2013 Saddle Ridge Hoard. The PCGS Price Guide places the Closed 3 around $12,000 at MS62, well above its Open 3 counterpart and reflective of the condition rarity at the upper end. For full context on the Type 2 reverse and the broader 1849 to 1907 run, see the Liberty Head Double Eagle series history.