1891 Double Eagle $20 Philadelphia

Please post pictures on both sides if possible. Be very careful with this piece and hold it only by the rims (edges). There are very few 1891 Double Eagles known to exist. 1891-S is a common date however. Check below the eagle on the reverse (tails) to see if an "S" is present.

Best of Luck!

Make arrangements with a reputable local dealer to send it to PCGS. I do not know where you are, and cannot therefore make a recommendation, but it wold be a good first step to have a dealer who is familiar with this coinage inspect it first. I do not mean just any decent dealer, but one who has a specialty in high-end US gold coinage.

Look for a dealer here:

http://www.pcgs.com/dealers/

The cost for the services varies by the value of the coin. If your coin has never seen circulation, never been cleaned and is genuine, you can expect its' worth to be well over $100,000. The cost to authenticate and grade such a coin is $250, plus the cost of insured Registered Mail to and from PCGS.

It should then be liquidated via consignment through a large auction house such as Heritage, Bowers & Merena or Stack's. Although it is possible that a very high-end coin dealer might have a customer looking for this specific coin, there would be a great deal of legwork involved.

I reiterate the call for pictures, if it's within your ability.

Can you take it directly to these authenticators, would have a hard time sending it through the mail! Also how much would it be to insure something like this when you send it!! Would have a hard time seeing it leave my site!!It is much better shape then the one above! It is in safe place! But maybe not protected properly, I am not a collector, so don't even know the best possible coin holder or sleve to have it in!!This piece should probably be in a museum or something, are there such things as coin museums.

Thank you all very much for your help! Will keep in contact with this forum over the next few months!I really wish I was able to post pictures for you! Maybe in the future! Once again thank-you very much! Are there coin auctions that you would recommend once it is certified, or how would a person go about trying to sell a $100,000 coin! Scary to even think about!

Sounds like a great find, but while it's good to be optimistic, don't be overly confident believing it's 100% real. Just because a family member has passed it down or has told you a story doesn't make it true. A lot can happen in 120 years. The only reason I'm saying this is given the rarity of the coin. I hope it works out and you're able to get it authenticated, graded and sold. Good luck.

Since you've said that it has been passed down through the generations, don't sell it! Keep it and pass it on to the next generation so they can appreciate it and pass it on to subsequent generations. I do recommend getting it authenticated and slabbed though; a slab from a third party grading service is the best choice for long term coin storage since they are airtight.

Would be alot easier to keep if it was a fake, as for not selling it, how long is it going to stay in the family before someone does sell it!! Family and relatives could benifit from it now! I know someone asked if there were more, at the time they were gotten from the bank I believe he picked up 5 of them! However don't know if they were all same dates or what! And not sure where they ended up?

Just so you know, bumping 5 year old threads on a whim makes us furious.