The 1866 Double Eagle is an extremely popular issue with collectors. The popularity encompasses a broad range of interests and collecting habits. Some of the major reasons for this issue’s popularity include the following:

• Very popular with Civil War collectors: after completing their sets, they typically move on to post-Civil War issues.
• The first Double Eagle upon which the motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears.
• First year of issue and only Philadelphia Double Eagles are dated 1866 (no coins were struck lacking the motto on the reverse.)

This date tends to be found with a fairly good quality of strike. On the obverse, the hair of Liberty often shows weakness (as do the great majority of Type Two Double Eagles, regardless of date or mint) while the stars and border are mostly sharp. The reverse is usually very well struck. The surfaces frequently display very heavy bag abrasions. This is a very hard coin to find with a nominal amount of marks. The luster is mostly often a slightly grainy texture which is somewhat frosty. Specimens with reflective surfaces exist but these are quite hard to locate. Original, uncleaned pieces show coloration which ranges from medium orange-gold to a subdued rose-green hue; often commanding premiums.

Surface Quality and Proof Rarity Rankings: 1866 Double Eagle

Most  1866 Double Eagles are unattractive due to excessive marks. It is not uncommon to find pieces showing significant Mint-made problems such as long, unattractive black carbon streaks. Other coins show insignificant problems such as copper spotting, which result from an improper mixture of copper within the gold used to strike these pieces.

All business strikes of this date have a normal date. No major die varieties are known, although it is very likely a number of different date positions exist.

Proof 1866 Double Eagles are extremely rare. Of the 30 pieces originally struck, it is doubtful more than 10-12 still exist. The quality of these survivors is a bit choicer than one would expect and a few very nice Proofs exist. All examples show a spectacularly mispunched date with the first 1 originally punched down on the rim.