The 1860-O $20 double eagle is nearly always weakly pronounced at Liberty's hair and around the border of the obverse, particularly at the left stars. The luster typically displays some degree of prooflike reflectivity, though this is usually obscured by abrasions or dampened by conservation. Original examples with strong eye appeal are very scarce and should command a heavy premium. Fewer than one hundred examples survive in all grades, with the heaviest distribution in the VF and EF grades. There are an estimated two dozen AU coins, with the majority of these in AU-50 and AU-53. Doug Winter suggests the existence of two Mint State examples for this year from the New Orleans mint. They are an MS-60PL graded by NGC and the Eliasberg specimen currently certified as AU-58 (PCGS), which Winter grades — at least MS-61 to MS-62.”

By 1860 only 6,600 double eagles were struck in New Orleans. The 1860-O is the sixth rarest of 13 double eagle issues from the New Orleans Mint, surpassing even the historic 1861-O, the 1857-O, the 1858-O and the 1850 to 1853 issues. U.S. gold coin scholars recognize this as a challenging issue and Doug Winter estimates that a mere 85 to 95 pieces are extant in all grades. In A Guide Book of Double Eagle Gold Coins (2004) Q. David Bowers writes, "The 1860-O double eagle is rare in any grade and is 'impossible' in Mint State. This New Orleans Mint issue has always been very popular."

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in April 2022 as part of the Fairmont Collection, Hendricks Set, where it realized $69,000.