Collectors have long been fascinated with the twenty-dollar gold piece (double eagle), struck by the United States mint from 1850 to 1933. Its size has no equal in world coinage, at least for those pieces struck on a regular basis. The large numbers struck over the years caused it to be a favorite among world central banks for their gold reserves.
Prior to 1850 the largest United States gold coin was the ten-dollar piece (eagle) which had been established under the original 1792 mint act. It had never been a popular denomination, with most of the emphasis being on half eagles. However, gold coinage in the United States prior to the California Gold Rush was never especially heavy and gold coins did not form an appreciable part of the circulating medium. All of this was to change with discovery of gold on the Sutter Ranch in early 1848.
Within a relatively few weeks the news had reached the East Coast and men by the tens of thousands laid down their tools and headed West; some got rich, but most did not. Among those who went were miners from the regions around Dahlonega and Charlotte, the two small Southern mints that struck only gold coins.
The increasing absence of miners in the South had the long-term possibility of spelling doom for the two mints. Already under pressure from government officials who wanted to end the heavy drain on the Treasury for
