1885-CC Liberty Head Double Eagle. AU-55 (NGC). Splendid honey-gold surfaces are enhanced by subtle pinkish-rose highlights. Near-fully lustrous with virtually complete striking detail also remaining, this is a very nice example of this challenging issue at the AU-55 grade level. Only 9,450 double eagles were coined at the Carson City Mint in 1885, by far the smallest production figure of any $20 from this facility during the 1880s. This is the final Carson City Mint double eagle coinage until 1889-CC as no coins of any denomination were struck there from 1886 to 1888. Q. David Bowers 2004 estimate of 275 to 400 circulated examples seems to have stood the test of time, for Rusty Goe provides a similar estimate of 360 to 425 survivors in all grades in his outstanding new reference <em>The Confident Carson City Coin Collector, Volume 2</em>. Indeed, this issue is elusive even at the VF and EF levels, the grades assigned to most survivors. Approaching Mint State, as here, the 1885-CC is rare and always in demand among advanced collectors of double eagles and Carson City Mint coinage.
