This is a replica of the last $20 Gold Piece issued under the authority of the Old Union! $20 gold pieces like this were often carried into battle by soldiers and sailors as a good luck piece or sewn into the lining of their clothing in the event of capture! Worth over $500 in 1860, a $20 gold piece could make a guard look the other way, or provide food, shelter, and transportation for an escaped Prisoner of War or, do I dare say, a deserter!!! That's not to mention just how far $500 in 1860 purchasing power could go, especially in war time! In some cases, $20 might make the difference between lying in an unmarked grave or having your remains shipped back home to those you love! That's why gold coins like this were the prime target of battlefield scavengers! Why, even military burial parties searched every stitch of clothing they could find for hidden gold! In addition, coins like this were surely among the hoard of gold coins and bars the Confederate Treasury shipped south with Jefferson Davis in the closing days of the War! The most famous 1860 $20 Double Eagle of all was found inside the CSS Hunley, having been in the possession of its commander Lt. George Dixon. The coin, a good luck piece given to him by his wife (and shown here), deflected a bullet at the Battle of Shiloh, saving the Lieutenant's life. Until the Hunley was raised, the coin was thought to be a myth, but now it is among the most prized and valuable of all Civil War Artifacts!