$20 Saint Gaudens Gold Coins Certified

Augustus Saint-Gaudens may very well be the most revered engraver that the U.S. Mint has ever commissioned to design American coins. A prolific sculptor, Saint-Gaudens was chosen by President Theodore Roosevelt to beautify and improve the quality of American coinage. Two U.S. circulation coins bear designs created by Saint-Gaudens: the $20 Gold Double Eagle and the $10 Gold Indian Head Eagle. Both coins replaced Christian Gobrecht's Coronet Liberty Head designs, which ran for almost 70 years.

Saint-Gaudens' work is distinguished by its stunning relief, where the coin's details are dramatically raised above its surface. His redesign of the Double Eagle and the Indian Head Eagle both exhibit this alluring feature. Coveted for their eye appeal, the Saint-Gaudens gold coins are also large gold circulation pieces--the last of their kind. Both coins were minted between 1907-1933.

Many American collectors will agree that Saint-Gaudens had an abiding influence on subsequent American coin designs. Adolph A. Weinman, designer of the beautiful Walking Liberty coins, was a pupil of Saint-Gaudens. Shortly after his two gold coins went into production, Saint-Gaudens passed, leaving a long-lasting mark on U.S. coinage.