The nation was coming out of a recession in 1885, and demand for new coins was low. As a result, mintages of many coins were depressed. This included Liberty double eagles for every mint except San Francisco.

Much was happening in 1885:

• President Chester Arthur dedicated the Washington Monument, completed 37 years after construction began.
• The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City from France aboard the French ship Isere. After being reassembled in New York Harbor, it would open to the public the following year.
• Mark Twain published the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
• Good Housekeeping magazine published its first issue.
• The American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) was incorporated in New York as a subsidiary of the American Bell Telephone Company.
• Louis Pasteur successfully tested an anti-rabies vaccine.
• Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Mikado premiered in London. It became one of the most frequently performed musical theater works in history.
• The Boston Pops Orchestra was formed.

Back ↵