Lot 1704
1866-S $20 Liberty. No motto. PCGS graded AU-58. A few obverse bag marks, otherwise Mint State. The year 1866 was one of transition in silver coins. Patriotic zeal arising out of the trauma of Civil War gave birth to calls for a new religious motto to be added to the original E PLURIBUS UNUM that had been on coins ever since Colonial times. In 1861, 1862, and 1863, two variations on a new motto were used on Pattern coins. The first, GOD OUR TRUST, was abandoned; the more rhythmical IN GOD WE TRUST was an improvement and was included on the new two-cent pieces in 1864 and shield nickels introduced in 1866. The Act of March 3, 1865 included a clause mandating this motto. However, it took the Philadelphia Mint several months to add it to the production dies. (Philadelphia makes dies for the branch mints). For this reason, a few No Motto twenty-dollar gold pieces were made at San Francisco before the new IN GOD WE TRUST reverse dies arrived. The present No Motto coin is one of an estimated 12,000 struck. Not many are featured in auctions, and these are usually worn pieces. Among the finest known: Pop 3; 1 finer in 60 (PCGS # 8945) .
Estimated Value $70,000 - 80,000.
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