1855 Wass, Molitor & Co. Small Head Gold Double Eagle

Coin Details

Auction Record

$180,000 AU55 01-14-2024 Heritage Auctions

Description

The 1855 Wass, Molitor & Company twenty-dollar gold piece with the Small Head variety features a more delicately proportioned Liberty portrait compared to the bold Large Head version. The Small Head creates more open field space around the portrait, giving the obverse a more refined but less imposing appearance. The existence of both head-size varieties for the 1855 double eagle mirrors the pattern seen in the firm’s 1852 five and ten dollar issues, indicating that the production of multiple die versions was standard practice at the Wass, Molitor facility. The hand-engraved nature of each die made exact replication impossible and deliberate variation natural. The Small Head twenty-dollar piece is the scarcer of the two varieties and completes the trio of 1855 Wass, Molitor denominations (eagle, double eagle, and fifty dollar) that represent the firm’s most ambitious and final production effort.

Rarity Notes

Very rare. The Small Head double eagle is scarcer than the Large Head. Approximately 15-30 examples survive.

Cross References

PCGS #10357; NGC #31156; Wass, Molitor & Co., San Francisco; Small Head variety