This 1896-S Liberty Head $20 was authenticated and certified by NGC as an Obverse Struck Thru mint error. It has an original deep rich gold toning with full luster. I grade this coin a solid MS 64. The 1896-S is worth substantially more in grades 64 and higher, making it difficult to obtain.

Although struck thru's are readily available on U.S. coins in lower denominations, and sometimes on U.S. gold coins as well, the struck thru portion is almost always a very small section of the coin. The struck thru area is either grease, debris, string, or a small foreign particle that stuck to the die.

This Liberty Head $20 is the most dramatic struck thru that I have ever seen on a U.S. gold coin in over 45 years as a full time professional coin dealer specializing in mint errors. It is 75% struck thru, affecting most of the obverse design including the stars, crown, LIBERTY, and almost all of the hair detail.

This is an amazing and dramatic major mint error on a U.S. Liberty Head $20. It belongs in a collection of U.S. gold coins or major mint errors.

Here is a comparison with a
normal 1896-S Liberty Head $20:






Gold Errors are featured in
my NLG Award winning book,
World's Greatest Mint Errors.