An 1870-CC Coronet gold $20 double eagle topped bidding at Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ April 6 session featuring The Fairmont Collection – Hendricks Set, which included some exceptional twenties.

The Carson City Mint issue is a famed rarity in the series. The coin in the auction is graded Extremely Fine 45 by Professional Coin Grading Service, and it also has a green Certified Acceptance Corp. sticker. The solid grade places it among the finer survivors for an issue unknown in Mint State grades. It sold for $810,000.

A low mintage of 3,789 coins was divided into five monthly deliveries, with Rusty Goe’s recent book The Confident Carson City Coin Collector estimating that 55 to 65 survive today.

Stack’s Bowers called this coin nicer than most examples, writing, “We see no more than a few sizable marks that are easily forgiven, and no detracting hairlines, the in-hand appearance remarkably smooth for an 1870-CC twenty,” along with traces of original Mint luster.

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