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1. Re: $20 - 1870 Philadelphia : strange position for the "1" of the date.

   

   Comment by MFeld · March 7, 2026 6:27AM · Home› U.S. Coin Forum

   I might be wrong but I think that @Herakles was more concerned with whether the coin is genuine than how uncommon the placement of the 1 in the date is. And because he hadn’t seen any examples with the 1 touching Liberty, it made him think that the subject coin was probably counterfeit.

2. $20 - 1870 Philadelphia : strange position for the "1" of the date.

   

   

   Discussion by Herakles · March 6, 2026 8:39AM · Home› U.S. Coin Forum

   Hello, I have seen in a coming Auction sale a $20 1870 gold coin with a strange date. The "1" of 1870 is too close to the neck of Liberty Head... So I assume that is not a faulty issue but a gold copy maybe from Lebanon ? * Weight : 33,38g & Diameter : 34mm. Thank you in advance for your help.

3. Re: $20 - 1870 Philadelphia : strange position for the "1" of the date.

   

   Comment by Herakles · March 6, 2026 9:13AM · Home› U.S. Coin Forum

   Thank you. Whatever the minting place the "1" never hits the neck doesn't it ?

4. Re: $20 - 1870 Philadelphia : strange position for the "1" of the date.

   

   

   Comment by oreville · March 6, 2026 8:53PM · Home› U.S. Coin Forum

   This is my 1870-S $20 in PCGS/CAC MS-62. The 1 in the date is further away from Liberty’s neck.

5. Re: $20 - 1870 Philadelphia : strange position for the "1" of the date.

   

   

   Comment by MFeld · March 6, 2026 9:27AM · Home› U.S. Coin Forum

   You’re most welcome, I had done a brief search of auction sales prior to my previous reply. And I did find an 1870-S with the 1 in the date touching Liberty’s neck. See here:

6. Re: $20 - 1870 Philadelphia : strange position for the "1" of the date.

   

   Comment by roadrunner · March 6, 2026 9:53PM · Home› U.S. Coin Forum

   https://pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin/1870-s-20/8959 Coinfacts shows 3 examples of the 1870-s. 2 out of the 3 show the top (touching) position of the "1." Those 2 examples also show a more refined "S" mint mark that is slightly to the right of the other example. But the OP's example might be jammed in there a bit tighter all…

7. Re: $20 - 1870 Philadelphia : strange position for the "1" of the date.

   

   Comment by yosclimber · March 6, 2026 9:40PM · Home› U.S. Coin Forum

   Right, there were several obverse dies used for the 1870 $20 in Philadelphia and San Francisco, and the date and mint mark positions varied.

8. Re: $20 - 1870 Philadelphia : strange position for the "1" of the date.

   

   Comment by MFeld · March 6, 2026 8:58AM · Home› U.S. Coin Forum

   Welcome to the forum. I realize that you said 1870, not 1870-S, but is it possible that the coin’s a miscatalogued S-mint example? The details do look quite weak considering the apparent state of preservation.

9. Re: $20 - 1870 Philadelphia : strange position for the "1" of the date.

   

   Comment by CaptHenway · March 8, 2026 11:14AM · Home› U.S. Coin Forum

   You are quite welcome. Glad to help.

10. Re: $20 - 1870 Philadelphia : strange position for the "1" of the date.

    

    Comment by Herakles · March 8, 2026 2:41AM · Home› U.S. Coin Forum

    Hello, Thank you very much for these explanations.