The 1920-S Indian Head Gold Eagle (Buy on eBay) represents the rarest branch mint issue of the series and the third rarest circulation strike of the overall series. It has also emerged as the top conditional rarity of the series, with the fewest number of coins graded MS-63 or higher.
The coins had been produced following a three year gap in the series and would be followed by another three year gap. The mintage of the coin was 126,500, which was not an incredibly low number as several issues have lower mintages. The more important factor was that the vast majority of pieces were introduced into circulation where they circulated heavily, with many pieces subsequently melted.
An estimated 125 to 150 examples of this issue still remain in existence, split relatively evenly between circulated and uncirculated examples. Only a handful of gems have been graded. The single finest known specimen graded PCGS MS-67 sold for $1,725,000 in 2007.
