1861-S $20.00 PCGS AU58

Due to a lack of coins being found in shipwrecks, the 1861-S Normal Reverse is the hardest San Francisco double eagle from the Civil War to find in higher grades. In fact, it is very rare in full MInt State and this AU58 "slider" is about as nice an example as what is generally available for the issue. This piece has just a slight amount of wear seen on the high spots and some minor luster breaks in the obverse fields. There two or three small blackish areas of discoloration on the obverse where the copper used to alloy the gold in the planchet was not alloyed properly.