Circulation-strike double eagle production at the Philadelphia Mint amounted to 351,175 coins, or $7,023,500 in face value, in 1865. Since gold coins continued to be hoarded in the East and Midwest, these were available only at a premium in terms of Legal Tender notes. Q. David Bowers estimated a surviving population of only 14 to 18 different Mint State examples in his Guide Book of Double Eagles published by Whitman in 2004. At the time this dovetailed nicely with David W. Akers' research, as he found a scant eight auction listings of specimens cataloged as Uncirculated when he wrote his widely used double eagle reference book in 1982. Later came news from Odyssey Marine Exploration of 363 pieces found in the wreck of the S.S. Republic. We once again remind readers that these coins were not in general circulation at the time, but were owned by those who paid a sharp premium for them in terms of Legal Tender notes.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in August 2019 Rarities Night Auction, where it realized $48,000.