Item number: A4646

Reference number: KM#74.2

Year: AD 1872

Material: Gold (.900)

Size: 32.5 x 32.5 mm

Weight: 33.4360 g recorded

Manufactured by: San Francisco Mint I

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2025

This specimen is a coronet Head Double Eagle gold coin minted and issued by the United States in AD 1872, bearing a face value of 20 US dollars.

The obverse of the gold coin features a left-facing profile portrait of Liberty, adorned with a coronet inscribed with the word ‘LIBERTY’. Her hair is elegantly gathered into a chignon at the back. Faintly visible beneath the truncation of the neck are the initials ‘J.B.L.’, representing the signature of the designer, James Barton Longacre, who served as the fourth Chief Engraver of the United States Mint. Encircling the portrait are thirteen six-pointed stars, symbolizing the original thirteen colonies that founded the United States. Below the effigy is the year of coinage, ‘1872’.

The reverse of the coin features the Great Seal of the United States, centred upon a bald eagle with outspread wings, bearing a shield upon its breast. The shield is divided horizontally; the lower section features thirteen alternating vertical stripes, representing the original thirteen states of the Union. In its talons, the eagle grasps arrows, symbolizing military might, and an olive branch, signifying peace. Above the eagle’s head, rays of light radiate outward, enclosing the inscription ‘IN GOD WE TRUST’. This inscription is further encircled by a ring of thirteen stars. Beneath the wings fly scrolls inscribed with ‘E PLURIBUS UNUM’, the national motto of the United States, meaning ‘Out of many, one’. The upper periphery is inscribed with the national title, ‘UNITED STATES OF AMERICA’, while the lower periphery bears the denomination, ‘TWENTY D.’.

The mintmark of the Eagle coin series is positioned beneath the tail feathers on the reverse. This particular specimen bears the letter ‘S’, denoting the San Francisco Mint. Established in AD 1854, the San Francisco Mint was initially founded to refine and directly coin the vast amounts of gold emerging from the California Gold Rush within its immediate vicinity. Its most celebrated second-generation facility, constructed in the Greek Revival stone style, miraculously survived the devastating AD 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the subsequent catastrophic fires. Consequently, it earned the moniker ‘The Granite Lady’ for successfully safeguarding nearly one-third of the United States’ gold reserves at the time. Today, the San Francisco Mint no longer produces standard circulating coinage; instead, it has transitioned into a premier facility dedicated to producing gold and silver proof coins as well as commemorative issues specifically for numismatic collectors.

The Eagle coin series, issued by the United States Mint from AD 1795 through the 1930s, was comprised of four denominations: Quarter Eagle ($2.50), Half Eagle ($5), Eagle ($10), and Double Eagle ($20). This coin belongs to the Double Eagle category, which was minted from AD 1849 to AD 1907. Its introduction was prompted by the abundance of gold resulting from the California Gold Rush beginning in AD 1848, which led the federal government to issue higher-denomination coins to stabilise the monetary market. In the highly industrialised 19th century, the plentiful and reliable supply of gold coinage in the United States supported the development of commerce and finance. In AD 1873, Congress passed the Coinage Act, halting the minting of standard silver dollars and effectively shifting the United States onto the gold standard, which was formally codified through the Gold Standard Act in AD 1900. The onset of the Great Depression in AD 1929 led to significant gold outflows and deflation, culminating in a financial crisis. In AD 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt terminated gold convertibility and ordered the recall of gold coins, marking the United States’ complete departure from the gold standard and its transition to a fiat currency system. Gold coins were consequently withdrawn from circulation.

This coin conforms to the design type issued from AD 1866 to AD 1876. Its defining diagnostic features include the inclusion of the reverse motto ‘IN GOD WE TRUST’ and the abbreviated denomination rendered as ‘D.’ rather than ‘DOLLARS’.

In God We Trust:
This phrase first appeared during the American Civil War and was adopted as the national motto of the United States by an act of Congress in AD 1956. It has since been printed on many issued banknotes and coins.

物件編號: A4646

參考書目編號: KM#74.2

年代: 公元 1872 年

材質: 黃金 (900‰)

尺寸: 32.5 x 32.5 mm

重量: 記錄為 33.4360 g

製造地: 美國舊金山造幣廠

來源: 福君錢幣 2025

此枚為美國於公元1872年鑄造發行的自由女神像王冠頭雙鷹幣，面額為20美元。 

金幣的正面為自由女神的左側肖像，頭上戴有刻有「LIBERTY 」(意即自由)字樣的王冠，髮尾盤成髮髻。頸下模糊處應有「J.B.L.」，為設計者，美國鑄幣局第四任首席雕刻師，詹姆斯·巴頓·朗埃克(James Barton Longacre)之署名。周圍環列13顆六芒星，象徵初建合眾國的北美十三州。肖像下方「1872」，為鑄行年。 

硬幣的背面為美國國徽，中央為白頭海鵰，雙翅開展，胸前負盾。盾分上下，下端交替十三道豎紋象徵初建合眾國的北美十三州。雙爪擒抓著象徵武力的箭與象徵和平的橄欖枝。鵰首上方放射光芒，其中銘文「IN GOD WE TRUST」，意即「我們信仰上帝」。銘文周圍再次環列十三顆星。雙翼之下絲帶飄揚，上書「E PLURIBUS UNUM」，即美國國家格言「合眾為一」。上方環列「UNITED STATES OF AMERICA」，即國號「美利堅合眾國」，下方環列「TWENTY D.」，即面額「20美元」。

鷹幣系列的鑄幣廠標記位於錢背尾羽下方。此枚硬幣為「S」，表示「舊金山造幣廠」。舊金山造幣廠成立於公元1854年，最初是為了就近精煉並將加州淘金熱中湧現的天量黃金直接鑄造成幣而設立。其最著名的第二代廠房因採用希臘復興式石造建築，在公元1906年舊金山大地震與隨後引發的毀滅性大火中奇蹟般地倖存下來，因而獲得了「花崗岩女士(Granite Lady)」的稱號，成功保護了當時美國國庫近三分之一的黃金儲備。時至今日，舊金山造幣廠已不再製作常規的流通硬幣，而是轉型為專門生產專供收藏家收藏的金銀精製幣與紀念幣的重要基地。

美國鷹幣是由美國造幣廠發行於公元1795年到公元1930年代的金幣，依面額的不同分為四分之一鷹幣(2½美金)、半鷹幣(5美金)、鷹幣(10美金)、和雙鷹幣(20美金)。此枚屬於雙鷹幣，雙鷹幣發行期間為公元1849年到公元1907年。由於公元1848年起，加州淘金熱帶來的大量黃金儲備，使聯邦政府推出面額更高的貨幣以穩定市場。在高速工業化的19世紀，美國充沛且穩定的金幣供應促進了商貿與金融發展。公元1873年，國會通過貨幣法，停止鑄造標準銀元，實質進入金本位，並在公元1900年以《金本位法》正式確認。公元1929年，經濟大蕭條爆發，黃金外流與通貨緊縮引發金融危機。公元1933年，羅斯福下令終止黃金兌換並回收金幣，美國全面脫離金本位體系，改行紙幣，金幣亦自此退出流通。

此枚硬幣屬於公元1866至公元1876年的設計。特徵為背圖「IN GOD WE TRUST 」銘文，和寫出縮寫「D.」而非「DOLLARS」。

我們信仰上帝(IN GOD WE TRUST):
這句話最早出現於美國南北戰爭時期，並於公元1956年通過國家議會的提案，成為美國的國家格言，被印製在許多發行的紙幣和硬幣上。