1879-O

What sets this issue apart in the entire double eagle series is a single historical fact: it is the only New Orleans-struck Liberty Head $20 produced after 1861. Confederate forces seized the New Orleans Mint in early 1861, and federal coinage there did not resume until 1879, when the facility briefly reopened gold operations. The 2,325-piece delivery represents the only Type 3 double eagle ever struck at New Orleans, since every prior O-mint twenty (1850 through 1861) belongs to Type 1. New Orleans never struck the denomination again, making this date a true one-off for the branch and a permanent historical bookend.

Survival is severe even relative to the small mintage. Q. David Bowers estimates roughly 100 survivors across all grades; Doug Winter places the figure at 115 to 135; Garrett and Guth cite fewer than 150. Winter has documented only seven verifiable Mint State pieces, and accurately graded AU58 examples are seldom encountered. PCGS and NGC top populations sit at MS62 and MS63 respectively. Auction performance reflects the condition rarity: a Fairmont Collection PCGS AU58 brought $114,000 in April 2022, and an NGC MS61 realized $138,000 in April 2021. Winter ranks the date sixth in overall rarity among the thirteen New Orleans double eagle issues.

Strike quality is uneven. The single die pair produced coins with prooflike reflectivity in the fields, though most surviving pieces show heavy abrasions, subdued luster, and below-average eye appeal from extended commercial circulation through Southern banking channels. Authentication matters here as much as grade, since added-mintmark fraud, almost always involving a genuine 1879 Philadelphia coin altered with an applied "O," is a documented concern; verifying the mintmark style and placement against authenticated reference photographs is essential before purchase. Among the great keys of the series, including the 1854-O, 1856-O, 1861 Paquet, and 1870-CC, this issue holds its own. For deeper context on the design and its production history, see the Liberty Head Double Eagle series history.