1850 O TYPE I $20 GOLD DEL NGC AU55

TYPE I $20 GOLD – FIRST YEAR $20 – "O" Mint – Last APR August 8/22 Realized $24,000

In the year 1850, the Gold Rush was in full swing, President Zachary Taylor dies in office (July 9) and is succeeded by his Vice President, Millard Fillmore. California became the 31st state in the Union, and both Los Angeles and San Francisco become cities.

1850 was also the first year of circulated issues of the Type-I $20 Double Eagle, and the New Orleans Branch Mint was the first to strike this historic $20 gold coin.

The California Gold Rush in 1849, created the need for a $20 Gold Double Eagle. In 1849 only two patterns were struck with that date in Philadelphia. Then in 1850, the new production dies were completed and shipped to New Orleans. A mere mintage of only 141,000 pieces was struck, compared to the 1,170,261 issued from the Philadelphia Mint that year.

Bankers especially liked the new twenty-dollar gold piece as it could be used to store large quantities of money in a relatively small space. This first-year issue heavily circulated along the Mississippi River trade routes and throughout the South.

Today, virtually the entire known population of 1850-O Double Eagles are in grades VF or EF, and strictly graded AU's are quite rare. This inaugural O-Mint Double Eagle is graded NGC AU 55 and is an item of significant numismatic importance and conditional rarity.