1866 Liberty Head Double Eagle. AU-55 (NGC). Lustrous and bright pinkish-gold surfaces retain sharp to full striking detail to virtually all design elements. The first year of the Type II design with the addition of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse, the post-Civil War economy was still quite tenuous when the Philadelphia Mint struck 698,745 double eagles in 1866. The entire issue entered circulation with little fanfare, the coins subject to hoarding or used for overseas payments where specie was the preferred medium of exchange, a situation that would persist well into the 1870s. Even though a few thousand survivors are thought extant, almost all are at lower circulated grade levels. Popular as the first year for the type, here is a desirable and scarce Choice AU example for the double eagle connoisseur.
