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Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle
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By the late 19th century, Augustus Saint-Gaudens was widely recognized as one of
America’s finest artists. Such was his reputation that President Theodore
Roosevelt personally commissioned him to design the 1905 Inaugural medal.
Roosevelt was quite pleased with the result, and enlisted Saint-Gaudens as an
accomplice in his “pet crime” of fashioning a new look for U.S. coinage.
The president had a specific concept in mind: to mint high-relief coins in the
style of ancient Greece. “High-relief” is a numismatic term to indicate the
distance between the highest and lowest points of the coin is greater than
usual: in other words, the coin's raised featured protrudes higher from the its
surface than one would normally expect.
With this thought in mind, Roosevelt wrote to Saint-Gaudens on Nov 6, 1905:
My dear Saint-Gaudens: How is
the gold coinage design coming along? I want to make a suggestion. It seems
to me worth while to try for a really good coinage; though I suppose there
will be a revolt about it. I was looking at some gold coins of Alexander the
Great today, and I was struck by their high relief. Would not it be well to
have our coins in high relief, and also to have the rims raised? The point
of having the rim raised would be, of course, to protect the figure of the
coin; and if we have the figures in high relief, like the figures on the old
Greek coins, they will surely last longer. What do you think of this? With
warm regards, etc.
Thus began an extraordinary collaboration between Saint-Gaudens and Roosevelt.
While balancing matters of high importance to the nation, the president always
devoted the time necessary to upgrade America’s image through her coinage.
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Saint-Gaudens
Double Eagle Specifications |
Diameter: |
Weight: |
Minted: |
Composition: |
Designer |
Edge: |
34.00 mm |
33.436 g |
1907-1933 |
.900
Au .100 Cu |
Augustus St-Gaudens |
Lettered |
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Coin Photos courtesy of
Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc., Beverly Hills, CA. |
The master artisan Saint-Gaudens agreed with the high-relief idea, and set out
to fashion new designs for the one cent coin as well as the
$10 eagle and $20
double eagle. The cent pattern never made it into circulation, but his models
for gold coins became the standard upon which all future U.S. coinage would be
compared. The Saint-Gaudens gold double eagle coin especially has won
universal praise for its aesthetic appeal.
The Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle gold coin features a full length image of Miss
Liberty walking forward, as if she is ready to step out of the coin. She holds
aloft in her right hand a torch of enlightenment and her left hand presents an
olive branch symbolic of peace. To the lower left, nearly concealed by her
flowing gown, the dome of the U.S. Capitol Building is visible. The reverse is
dominated by a majestic eagle in flight, bathed in sunlight. The inscriptions
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and TWENTY DOLLARS are arranged in two concentric arcs
located above the eagle.
The first trial samples of the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle were struck in early
1907 and were characterized by their extremely high relief. These patterns were
quite stunning in beauty and detail, but required nine hits on the coining press
to achieve the desired effect. Of the two dozen or so double eagles struck
during the experimentation phase, all but one of them displayed on the edge the
Latin motto E PLURIBUS UNUM (translation: Out of Many, One). Every coin of this
trial set carried the date in Roman numerals, MCMVII, to remind observers of the
artist’s classical inspiration, and have sold at auction for as high as $3 million.
The extra time required to raise an ultra high impression proved the need to
rework the models to lower the relief. Before the necessary revisions were
completed, Saint-Gaudens died in August 1907. The task of getting the new double
eagle design into production fell wholly to his assistant, Henry Hering.
On September 28, Hering personally delivered the reworked pair of double eagle
models to the Mint, whereupon he encountered stiff resistance from Chief
Engraver Charles Barber, who insisted the relief was still too high for
practical coining. One delay led to another until on November 22, an irritated
Roosevelt ordered the Mint to begin production immediately.
As Barber predicted, the high relief of Hering’s reworked models proved
difficult for mass production, requiring five hits apiece from the coining
presses. When released a few days later, banks complained loudly that the new
coins
would not stack properly because of the high relief and rim problems.
After making 11,250 of the high relief double eagle gold coins (an example is
pictured above), Barber began
using dies of lower relief and substituted the Roman date with the more familiar
Arabic numerals. Some of the high relief detail was lost, but the overall beauty
of the coin remained mostly intact. Before the close of 1907, nearly 362,000 of
these low relief double eagles were issued. Low relief was employed from
that point onward.
One thing all 1907 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles have in common is the omission of
the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. Roosevelt wanted this left off because he considered
it blasphemous to write the name of God on money, since it could be spent for
immoral purposes. However, Congress took a dim view of the missing motto and
passed legislation in 1908 mandating its restoration.
The Saint-Gaudens gold
double eagle coin was issued every year from 1907 to 1916, and again from 1920
to 1933. Most of the “Saints” dated 1929 and later were held in government
vaults to augment the federal gold reserve, and nearly of all these were melted
following President Franklin Roosevelt’s Gold Order of 1933, a move to thwart
hoarders. Under this
directive, gold coinage or bullion in private hands was declared illegal, and
required redemption to the government in exchange for other forms of currency. Gold coins with numismatic
value were not subject to the Gold Order, however. Once the gold had
been consolidated under federal control, the Treasury department set the price
of gold bullion at $35.00 an ounce, up from $20.67, nearly doubling the value of
the gold in its possession. The price of gold was regulated by the government
until January 1, 1975, when all gold ownership restrictions and price controls were ended.
The
1933 double eagle currently holds the record for the highest price ever paid for
a U.S. coin when it was purchased in 2002 for $7.59 million. There were 445,500
double eagles minted in 1933, but none were ever placed into circulation and
nearly every last one of them was melted down after the Gold Order was issued.
Two specimens, thought at the time to be the only 1933 double eagles in existence, were
transferred to the Smithsonian Institute. In 1944, the Secret Service learned
a small number of the double eagles had been stolen from the Mint in 1933, thus
beginning an investigation of many years.
By 1952, seven of the coins had been recovered. An 8th example was found that
year in the holdings of King Farouk of Egypt, deposed by a revolt of his
countrymen. Arrangements were made to return the coin to the U.S., but it
mysteriously disappeared before it could make the journey home. In 1996, the
King Farouk specimen was seized in a law enforcement sting operation in New York
City, followed by years of litigation over rightful ownership of the coin.
The case was settled in 2001 when it was agreed that ownership of the 1933
double eagle would revert to the U.S. government, and the coin could then
legally be sold at auction after the Treasury issued a document to officially
monetize the coin. In July 2002, the coin sold for $7.59 million to an anonymous
buyer. The proceeds were split between the federal government and Stephen
Fenton, the man from whom the coin was seized in 1996.
In August 2005, the Secret Service announced the recovery of ten additional 1933
double eagle gold coins from the family of Philadelphia jeweler Israel Switt,
who had involvement with missing double eagles recovered more than a half
century earlier. The coins are currently tied up in legal proceedings.
There are several key date “Saints” that are rare not so much because few were
made, but due to heavy melting. The rarest of these is the 1927-D. Out of an
original mintage of 180,000, only a microscopic number remain. Top grade
examples can fetch as much as $2 million. Fortunately, a number of European
banks had tucked away a healthy supply of double eagles, including a smattering
of post-1928 double eagles and were spared a fiery fate.
Key date Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle gold coins cost a minimum of $10,000 in XF-40
condition, but are worth it if the buyer is seeking ownership of a beautiful
U.S. coin destined to outpace value appreciation of most other numismatic
holdings. The key date "Saints" are classified as:
A good piece of advice for purchasing key date Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles is to consider only
coins that have been certified by one of the four leading grading
service companies: PCGS, NGC, ICG, or ANACS. Other grading services may be
legitimate (then again maybe not), but for coins this rare and valuable, do what
experienced collectors do and insist upon certification by the most reputable
grading services.
The links below initiate a search of eBay coin auctions for the indicated
key date Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle. The left hand side of each "Sales Box"
reports value trends over a very long period of time for the key date in XF-40
condition. The percent annual increase since 1950 is computed for
comparative purposes. The "View All" link on the right side of the
Sales Box is coded to isolate examples for sale on eBay of the indicated date.
Most likely, you won't find any examples on the auction block, attesting to the
scarcity of the key date Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles. Also, the coin pictured
for sale in the right hand side, if any, is not necessarily the same condition
coin as that represented in the value trend analysis on left hand side. |
Half Cents
1793-1857 |
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Large Cents
1793-1857 |
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Flying Eagle Cents
1856-1858 |
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Indian Head Cents
1859-1909 |
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Lincoln Cents
1909-present |
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Two and Three
Cents 1851-1889 |
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Shield Nickels
1866-1883 |
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Liberty Nickels
1883-1913 |
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Buffalo Nickels
1913-1938 |
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Jefferson Nickels 1938-present |
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Early Half Dimes
1792-1837 |
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Seated Liberty Half Dimes 1837-1873 |
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Early Dimes
1796-1837 |
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Seated Liberty Dimes 1837-1891 |
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Barber Dimes
1892-1916 |
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Mercury Dimes
1916-1945 |
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Roosevelt Dimes 1946-present |
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Twenty Cents
1875-1878 |
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Early Quarters
1796-1838 |
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Seated Liberty Quarters 1838-1891 |
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Barber Quarters
1892-1916 |
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Standing Liberty
Quarters 1916-1930 |
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Washington
Quarters 1932-present |
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Early Half Dollars
1794-1839 |
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Seated Liberty
Half Dollars 1839-1891 |
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Barber Half
Dollars 1892-1915 |
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Walking Liberty
Half Dollars 1916-1947 |
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Franklin Half
Dollars 1948-1963 |
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Kennedy Half Dollars 1964-Present |
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Early Dollars
1794-1804 |
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Gobrecht Dollars 1836-1839 |
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Seated Liberty Dollars 1840-1873 |
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Trade Dollars
1873-1885 |
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Morgan Dollars
1878-1921 |
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Peace Dollars
1921-1935 |
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Eisenhower Dollars
1971-1978 |
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Anthony Dollars
1979-1981,1999 |
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Sacagawea Dollars
2000-present |
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Presidential Dollars
2007-present |
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Gold Dollars
1849-1889 |
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Early Quarter Eagles 1796-1834 |
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Classic Head Quarter Eagles 1834-1839 |
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Coronet Quarter
Eagles 1840-1907 |
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Indian Head
Quarter Eagles 1908-1929 |
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Three Dollar Gold
1854-1889 |
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Early Half Eagles
1795-1834 |
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Classic Head Half Eagles 1834-1838 |
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Coronet Half
Eagles 1839-1908 |
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Indian Head Half
Eagles 1908-1929 |
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Early Eagles
1795-1804 |
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Coronet Eagles
1838-1907 |
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Indian Head Eagles
1907-1933 |
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Coronet Double
Eagles 1849-1907 |
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St-Gaudens Double
Eagles 1907-1933 |
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What's the difference between the high relief Saint-Gaudens and low relief?
Shown above are two Mint State Uncirculated examples of 1907 double eagles; the
top image is in high relief, the bottom image in low relief. Compared
next to each other, some of the differences are easy to spot, such as Liberty's left
knee and foot, the roundness of her face, the fingers of her right hand,
etc. The detail of the
extremely high relief double eagles of
which only 24 or so were coined in early 1907, is
even more pronounced.
Although quite beautiful, the Mint had to
discontinue the high relief Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle after a short while
because of their difficulty in mass production.
Coin Photos courtesy of
Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc., Beverly Hills, CA. |
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1907 H Relief
St Gaud Dbl Eagle
Condition: XF-40
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1920-S
St Gaud Dbl Eagle
Condition: XF-40
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Value Trends
1950: $75.00
1980: $3500
1995: $3900
2003: $4000
2007: $12000
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Value Trends
1950: $150
1980: $6000
1995: $6250
2003: $7500
2007: $20000
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
9.31%
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
8.96%
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1921
St Gaud Dbl Eagle
Condition: XF-40
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1926-D
St Gaud Dbl Eagle
Condition: XF-40
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Value Trends
1950: $400
1980: $10000
1995: $9000
2003: $10000
2007: $40000
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Value Trends
1950: $700
1980: $1100
1995: $2500
2003: $2500
2007: $14000
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
8.41
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
5.40%
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1927-S
St Gaud Dbl Eagle
Condition: XF-40
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1929
St Gaud Dbl Eagle
Condition: XF-40
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Value Trends
1950: $300
1980: $3000
1995: $2750
2003: $3750
2007: $10000
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Value Trends
1950: $160
1980: $3000
1995: $6000
2003: $6500
2007: $10000
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
6.35%
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
7.52%
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1930-S
St Gaud Dbl Eagle
Condition: XF-40
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1931
St Gaud Dbl Eagle
Condition: XF-40
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Value Trends
1950: $250
1980: $8500
1995: $12500
2003: $12500
2007: $30000
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Value Trends
1950: $150
1980: $6000
1995: $11000
2003: $11000
2007: $16000
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
8.76%
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
8.54%
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1931-D
St Gaud Dbl Eagle
Condition: XF-40
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1932
St Gaud Dbl Eagle
Condition: XF-40
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Value Trends
1950: $200
1980: $5750
1995: $10000
2003: $10000
2007: $15000
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Value Trends
1950: $125
1980: $6000
1995: $8000
2003: $8000
2007: $16000
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
7.87%
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
8.89%
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