The St. Gaudens is a twenty-dollar gold coin, or Double Eagle, produced by the United States Mint from 1907?1933. The St. Gaudens is named after its designer, the sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens, who designed the obverse and reverse. St. Gaudens" mark appears on the obverse of the coin under the date.
History
At the turn of the 20th century, President Theodore Roosevelt decided to start an effort to beautify American coinage. He hired Augustus St. Gaudens to overhaul American designs. St. Gaudens only lived to finish the double eagle and the Indian Eagle. These two designs are considered by some to be the best designs of their denominations and some of the best of any American coin ever. The double eagle design was voted the best American gold coin design and is currently used on American gold bullion coinage.
The original coinage of 1907 had an ultra high relief as the artist intended. However, when the Mint struck some coins, they required repeated striking by the presses, and had more the appearance of medals than coins.[1] One alternative explored by the mint was reducing the diameter of the coin to that of a checker and making it thicker in an attempt to keep the ultra high relief. Some trials were struck, but most were destroyed (except two which were retained in the Mint collection) when it was discovered that consent of Congress was required to change the diameter of any coin. St. Gaudens redesigned the coin for a lower relief, but when some of these "high relief" coins were struck, they would not stack well, and the design was flattened again by St. Gaudens for circulating coins. Some of the high relief coins, though, found their way into circulation. The coins were minted continuously until 1933, except for 1917-19, when no coins were struck.
"Godless" Eagle
In 1907 and 1908, a number of eagle and double eagle coins were minted without the motto of "In God We Trust". At that time, the coinage laws did not require the motto, and so St. Gaudens had not been asked to include it. Roosevelt defended the omission as a prevention of a profane use of God"s name, but in 1908, Congress passed an act requiring the use of the motto on all denominations of coins on which the motto had previously appeared--including the eagle and double eagle. The reverse of the coin was redesigned to include the motto.[2]
The Most Expensive Coin Ever! The 1933 St. Gaudens Double Eagle
When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered the United States off the gold standard in 1933, many coins of the last four years of the series were melted. Nearly all the 1933 coins were melted (with perhaps 20-30 escaping), but one ended up in the collection of King Farouk of Egypt. When Farouk"s collection was auctioned off, the coin disappeared, probably because it was illegal to own. In 2002 this coin sold at auction by Sotheby"s in New York City for $7,590,020. This makes the 1933 St. Gaudens Double Eagle the most valuable coin in the world.
The sale followed an agreement between the then-owner and the US Government to allow this one specimen to remain privately owned. Over the years, several specimens had been confiscated by the Secret Service on the grounds that the government deemed them to have not been legitimately issued.
The auction price for that specimen included a $20 payment to the Treasury to give the coin legal tender status.
What We Have To Offer
Gainesville Coins is proud to offer the $20 Saint Gaudens in Brilliant Uncirculated condition.? Collectors of uncertified coins recognize their primary purpose is to accumulate ounces of gold for their portfolio, but at a lower numismatic premium than higher-condition, certified coins.
Uncertified $20 Liberty and Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles make excellent choices for collectors who are less concerned about appearance, but who wish to maximize their total ounces of gold. Many holders of the finest certified rare coins also enjoy supplementing their collections with 20 or 50 coin rolls of XF-CU $20 Double Eagles.
Please visit www.gainesvillecoins.com to view our complete inventory of Rare and Modern Coins.
Info courtesy of Wikipedia
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