The mintage of 8.8 million double eagles in 1928 was the highest production figure for any coin of the denomination from the beginning in 1850. The next closest was the 1904 Liberty double eagle with a coinage of slightly more than 6 million coins. Unsurprisingly, the 1928 is one of the common dates in the Saint-Gaudens series, although the PCGS population is less than 40% of the 1927, and less than 20% the total for 1924 double eagles. Enough of these have been graded that any collector can aspire to own an example as fine as MS66. Locating one at this grade level is a different story, however.
We are offering up to 150 uncertified AU $20 Liberties at just 3.75% over melt. For less than the premium of a Bullion Gold Eagle you can own nice AU Pre-33 $20 Liberties!
Based on the current spot price of $2,328, the coins are $2,336 per coin. This is subject to spot gold fluctuations, us this formula for current price (spot x .9675 x 103.75%). They are solid AU coins with a nice date mix.
Minimum order is just 10 coins. Call or email to confirm
Despite objections from President Theodore Roosevelt, Congress mandated that the motto IN GOD WE TRUST be added to the Saint-Gaudens double eagle and other U.S. coinage. While Roosevelt felt the motto distracted from the Saint-Gaudens design, he yielded to public outcry and Congressional will. All of the 1908 With Motto twenties (Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco) are scarce in Gem Uncirculated condition and rare any finer, although the 1908-D Motto benefits from several high-grade examples found in Central America in 1983.
The San Francisco Mint began coinage operations in 1854, occupying the same building that previously housed the U.S. Assay Office of Gold, which produced the iconic $50 octagonal “slugs” of the Gold Rush period. Coinage during the first several months though was stunted due to a lack of parting acids needed for ore refinement. The double eagle mintage at San Francisco of 1854 was only 141,468 pieces, which would prove to be the lowest total coinage of this denomination at the West Coast branch mint. Surviving examples of the 1854-S double eagle are scarce in high AU grades and borderline rare in attractive Mint State condition.
Listed at $15,000 in the CDN CPG and $17,500 in the PCGS price guide.
Numismatists are familiar with Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ eagle and double eagle, but his oeuvre included statues, bas-reliefs, medallions, cameos, and works in other media. As a teenager he began his career with an apprenticeship to a cameo-cutter before he left for Paris in 1867. Although he was able to make some money selling cameos in New York City, by his own accounts they did not sell well in Paris, where other artists were more skillful. Saint-Gaudens would soon create works on a grander scale, but his experience with cameo-cutting would come in handy when he was commissioned to design medals and, later, coins.
It is impossible to say which of Saint-Gaudens’ many works was the most important, but certainly his statue of General William Tecumseh Sherman is one of the most lauded, and the figure of Victory (Nike) in the monument would later be used as a model for the double eagle. This statue also brought Saint-Gaudens into contact with Roosevelt, who was vice president at the time, and their collaboration would later result in the beginning of the American coinage renaissance.
Saint-Gaudens wanted his statue of Sherman to be positioned near Grant’s Tomb, which was completed in 1897, for artistic and historical reasons. Roger Burdette (2006) writes, “After a chance meeting on a train returning from the Buffalo Exhibition in May 1901, he sought the intervention of vice-president Theodore Roosevelt in an attempt to secure his preferred location of the statue.”
Although Roosevelt was unsuccessful and the statue was placed at the southeastern corner of New York’s Central Park, he did not forget his encounter with Saint-Gaudens. Less than four years later, Roosevelt would ask Saint-Gaudens to redesign some of the country’s coins. The coins were Saint-Gaudens’ final project, and the 1907 High Relief double eagle was the fitting capstone to the artist’s distinguished career.
The physical perfection of this coin makes one realize why Theodore Roosevelt was so proud of these pieces and why he used them for presentation purposes.
Most 1907 High Reliefs are a pleasure to behold. This one, however, is (even) much better than that!
The NGC population is 20 (two of which have been designated “Star” by NGC) with 5 graded higher.
Listed at $312,000 in the CDN CPG and $290,000 in the NGC price guide.
