Obverse Image: Liberty wearing a coronet and facing left. 13 stars around.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1860
Reverse Image: Heraldic eagle with wings outstretched clutching arrows and branch in talons, shield over chest. Scrolls on either side of eagle, ring of 13 stars above eagle's head, rays above stars.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY D. / E PLURIBUS UNUM
Description:
Designs as used on earlier double eagles, but with tall letters for legends on reverse. This unique pattern combined the normal obverse by James B. Longacre with an experimental reverse by Anthony C. Paquet. Paquet's innovation was to recast the letters in the reverse legend. Those letters had been block capitals on all earlier double eagles. Paquet introduced a new, more vertical format for the letters.
A few thousand coins with the Paquet reverse were minted in San Francisco at the beginning of 1861 (and a handful more at Philadelphia that same year). However, Paquet's innovation did not find favor at that time. [reference no. Judd 272a]
