Stunning 1856-O double eagle leads $17.7 million Heritage Long Beach coin auction
Chinese Year of the Dragon 2000 Yuan Kilo Gold leads World Coins with $115,000; post-auction buying continues, expected to push total past $18 million
DALLAS, TX – When the hammer came down on the dramatic 1856-O $20 double eagle on Friday night, May 29, during Heritage Auction Galleries’ Signature® Long Beach U.S. Coin Auction, the $1,437,500 total (including 15% Buyer’s Premium) elicited a spontaneous ovation from the buzzing crowd in the Long Beach Convention Center
The combined totals for the Rare U.S. Coins and World Coins auction in Heritage’s annual start of summer event in California was approaching $18 million total as of Monday, June 1, with post-auction buying continuing to push the total even higher.
“To say that we’re pleased with these results is an understatement,” said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auction Galleries. “Everyone seems to be scrambling to figure out if the overall economy is improving or worsening; one thing is for certain, though: high quality rare U.S. and World coins are selling as well as ever and still provide one of the surest investment opportunities in the market.”
The 1856-O double eagle – certified Specimen-63 by PCGS – is the rarest New Orleans-minted double eagle, the finest known example of this famous American coin, and it certainly lived up to its billing. At more than $1.4 million, it is the most ever paid at auction for a New Orleans double eagle – or for any New Orleans-minted coin. Many specialists believe that this is the single most important New Orleans double eagle in existence, and one of the most important O-mint coins of any denomination.
The seven figure price is even more impressive when you consider the prices realized journey this particular coin has taken at Heritage Auction Galleries alone, where it has been sold twice before, bringing $310,500 in 2002 and $542,800 in 2004. (more…)

The status of the 1856-O double eagle as the rarest New Orleans twenty, from a paltry mintage of 2,250 pieces, was established as long ago as the Atwater Sale (B. Max Mehl, 6/1946). In lot 1338 of that celebrated catalog Mehl proclaimed, “1856 Strictly very fine; free from any nicks or dents. The rarest Double-Eagle of the New Orleans Mint. Smallest coinage, that of only 2250. Not in some of the largest collections of U.S. Gold. Not even in the recent Sale of ‘World’s Greatest Collection of U.S. Gold Coins.’ ”
Until three years ago, no one even knew that the 












