Whitman Brands has released a full-color second edition of Double Eagle Gold Coins by Q. David Bowers, updating the classic reference on America’s $20 gold pieces with new research, more than 550 images and current market pricing.
The new volume arrives more than 20 years after the first edition helped establish Whitman’s Red Book Series. It covers Liberty Head and Saint-Gaudens double eagles, offering more than 275 listings, date-by-date analysis, mintage data, grading guidance and collecting strategies for one of the most closely followed areas of U.S. gold coin collecting.
Double eagles trace their roots to the California Gold Rush, with the Liberty Head design introduced in 1849. The denomination continued through the Saint-Gaudens double eagle, struck from 1907 until 1933 and widely regarded as one of the most admired designs in American coinage.
The book includes updated market values based on Greysheet pricing, GSID catalog numbers and a new foreword by gold-coin specialist John "JD" Dannreuther.
"Few coins capture the blend of artistry, history, and enduring value like the double eagle," said Patrick Ian Perez, Chief Publishing Officer at Whitman Brands. "With the gold market drawing renewed attention to historic coinage, collectors are rediscovering these remarkable pieces of American history. This new edition brings the scholarship, imagery, and modern market insight collectors need to fully appreciate and pursue the series."
Among the coins examined are the 1850 Type 1 Liberty Head, the 1856-O with a reported mintage of 2,250 coins, the 1870-CC from the first year of the Carson City Mint, and the 1907 Liberty Head, the final year of that design.
Coverage also includes the Saint-Gaudens double eagle series, including the 1907 High Relief, along with later key issues such as the 1920-S, 1921 and 1927-D.
"Few coin series capture the imagination of collectors quite like the double eagle," Dannreuther said. "Their scale and story alone make them unique in American numismatics. Whitman has once again provided collectors with an indispensable reference for understanding and appreciating these remarkable coins."
Whitman also highlighted the connection between the Saint-Gaudens double eagle and President Theodore Roosevelt’s effort to improve the artistry of U.S. coinage in the early 20th century. That story is explored further in Michael F. Moran’s When Coins Were King, another Whitman title focused on the monetary, political and cultural forces surrounding American coinage in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Double Eagle Gold Coins is part of Whitman’s Red Book Series, which now includes nearly 30 specialized volumes tied to coin types and programs covered in A Guide Book of United States Coins, commonly known as the Red Book. Other titles include works on Morgan silver dollars and Private & Pioneer Gold Coins of the United States, with additional volumes planned on Lincoln cents, U.S. modern proof sets and half eagle gold coins.
Bowers is among the most widely published authors in American numismatics, with more than 60 reference works to his name. He is a past president of both the American Numismatic Association and the Professional Numismatists Guild.
The book is available now through Whitman.com and booksellers nationwide.
