1850-O $20 XF40 PCGS CAC

The 1850-O Liberty Head $20 double eagle (Type 1, No Motto) represents the historic first year of double eagle coinage at the New Orleans Mint and remains one of the more demanding Southern branch mint issues of the decade, with only an estimated 626 examples still extant from a mintage of 121,000 only. Struck largely from freshly arrived California gold shipments, this CAC-approved About Uncirculated survivor offers superior originality for the issue, displaying a warm, uniform orange-to-yellow gold body color. Surfaces are evenly worn with softly muted luster in the fields, yet the central motifs retain notable strength. With a CAC Pop of just 8 in AU and 45 finer, plus a CAC Price Guide valuation of $10,500 and no recent PCGS CAC auction records, older auction prices prior to gold bull run have to be thrown out. Today this piece represents an increasingly challenging opportunity to secure a high-end example of the inaugural New Orleans double eagle—an issue prized equally by type specialists, O-Mint collectors, and students of Gold Rush-era federal coinage all under CAC $10,500 price. This coin represents excellent value under 5 figures.