About the Coin
There were only
three 1855-O double eagles recovered from the SS Republic with all three
grading AU58, tying this coin as the finest known from the shipwreck for this
date and mint.
Although
the 1854-O and 1856-O are considered such great rarities with only one mint
state coin between them, the 1855-O is sandwiched right between those two dates
and only boasts a handful of mint state coins itself. It is hardly a common
issue, yet if you were to trade in equivalently graded 1855-O's for a single
similarly graded 1854-O or 1856-O, it would take five 1855-O's to do so.
Designer: James B. Longacre
Weight: 33.436 grams
Diameter: approx. 34mm, reeded edge
Composition: 90% gold, 10% copper/silver
PCGS Price Guide: Libery Head $20 (1850-1907)