The 1855 $20 double eagle from Philadelphia is mildly scarce and typically found well struck despite scattered die cracks. Subdued and grainy luster limits the eye appeal on many pieces, rendering truly premium examples highly desirable to collectors. Most examples are significantly worn, with a heavy concentration in Very Fine and Extremely Fine grades. This issue becomes even scarcer in AU with perhaps only 200 coins available. Fewer than two dozen examples are throughout to exist in Mint State, and the finest of those is an MS-64 (PCGS) from the collection of Bill Crawford.

We wrote the following in our April 2022 Auction Catalog, saying: "The year 1855 is the first in which the Philadelphia Mint would produce fewer double eagles than its San Francisco counterpart, indicative of the fact that the newly opened West Coast facility would leverage its proximity to the gold fields to strike the lion's share of California's precious metal into coins. This dominance would continue, with few exceptions, through the end of the Liberty Head series in 1907. Indeed, the mintage for the 1855, 364,666 circulation strikes, is modest by Philadelphia Mint standards of the era. It is thought that fewer than 50 different 1855 double eagles can be considered Mint State today."

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in March 2006 as part of the New York Connoisseur's Collection, where it realized $126,500.