One of the favorite coin in my collection is the 1861-O $20

The 1861-O double eagle is a fascinating coin and one of the favorites in my collection. Of the four southern gold coins dated 1861, it is the only one from New Orleans and the only double eagle. Like the others (the 61-D $5, the 61-D $1, and the 61-C $5), the coins were or possibly were struck under the auspices of the Confederacy. Of the mintage of 17,741, 5000 were struck by the Union, 9750 by the State of Louisiana, and 2991 by the Confederacy. The weak strike in the lower half of the date is seen in about 75% of the coins. In the past, these had been theorized to have been struck by the Confederacy, but new information and theories suggest otherwise. There is also a shroud of mystery surrounding a possible missing allotment of $20 Libs from the New Orleans Mint at the time of the Confederate takeover and the speculation that there may be a hoard of these buried by a Confederate officer, who died during the Civil War.

I bought the coin (below), in a PCGS XF-45 holder, for Trends at the time. Since then, Trends has tripled, coins have been scarce to non-existent, and auction coins continue to bring moon money.

1861Odecom