There are two major varieties of 1854 double eagle. The more common of the two has a small date. The 1854 Large Date employs a logotype that was also used on silver dollars from this year.

According to Doug Winter, there is not much information on this variety. "While the 1854 Large Date double eagle has been known for at least a few decades, it wasn't really publicized until the 1970's and it still is not widely known outside the core group of Liberty Head double eagle specialists. It has become better known since it was recognized by both PCGS and NGC a few years ago."

The noted gold specialist Harry Bass was aware of this variety as far back as the early 1970's and it was mentioned in David Akers' seminal 1982 work on Double Eagles. On page 564 of Walter Breen's "Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Coins" there is an illustration of this variety and it was accorded the designation Breen-7168 in this book.

It is not known how many 1854 Large Date double eagles were struck but from auction records, third-party grading submissions and personal observations by gold coin specialists it can be concluded that this variety is quite rare. "I have been looking at every 1854 double eagle available for sale for nearly twenty years and have only found a handful." said Winter. "Most of the examples I have seen have been in the Extremely Fine-40 to About Uncirculated-50 range and it is clear to me that this variety is extremely rare in Uncirculated," he added.

As of December 2003, NGC had graded just three examples of this variety in Uncirculated: an MS-60 coin, an MS-62 owned by a prominent Midwestern collector and this coin.

The present example was purchased by Winter from Heritage's November 2003 auction where it was not described as being a Large Date by the cataloger. NGC had not designated it on its holder as a Large Date as well. However, the coin did realize $16,100 (including the 15% buyers charge) which indicated that at least one other bidder besides Winter realized its significance.

Winter stated, "I was shocked when I saw this coin in the Heritage catalog and when I viewed it in person I immediately realized what it was. After a little more research, I recognized it as the Pittman collection specimen which had been sold at auction in October 1997."

The new owner of the coin, a collector specializing in Type One double eagles, intends to publish an in-depth research article on the 1854 Large Date double eagle. "I have been looking for a high grade example of this issue for five years and was thrilled to acquire this specimen. It is the finest piece of which I am aware and it possesses a number of important die characteristics which I plan to share with collectors in the near future."