LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Signature Coin - Charlotte, NC #434  / 

2350

1907 $10 Wire Rim MS64 PCGS. After a 10-year stint as

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1907 $10 Wire Rim MS64 PCGS. After a 10-year stint as
<B>1907 $10 Wire Rim MS64 PCGS.</B></I> After a 10-year stint as superintendent of the San Francisco Mint, Frank A. Leach moved to Washington in 1907 to become director of the U.S. Mint. The heroic performance of Leach and other San Francisco Mint employees during the devastating great earthquake and fire of 1906, an excellent record at the San Francisco facility, and political activism for the Republican Party led to his recommendation by the previous director, George E. Roberts, and his acceptance by Treasury Secretary George Cortelyou. Leach was nominated in August and took office on November 1, 1907.<BR> In the interim, Robert Preston served as acting director. Due to President Roosevelt's desire for small quantities of the experimental designs to be available to collectors and because of Roberts' fear that an extremely small emission would create an instant rarity on the order of the 1804 silver dollar, the Wire Rim pieces were produced to the extent of about 500 pieces. The first strikes of the high relief Saint-Gaudens eagle coinage are thought to be the purest representation of the sculptor's artistic vision for this coin, before the design was compromised by the necessities of mintage practicality, with perhaps a dash of the bitter jealousy and obstructionism of Mint Engraver Charles Barber. In that regard, the Wire Rim tens are the younger sibling of the Ultra High Relief double eagle coins, and they are technically patterns as well, never intended for circulation but produced to give an idea of how far artistic freedom could stretch.<BR> None of the Wire Rim tens circulated to any degree, as all were sold to collectors, museums, and administration officials, and accordingly most are found in high grade. All examples show prominent die polishing marks in the fields, which must not be mistaken for hairlines. This piece offers softly glowing yellow-gold surfaces, and the obverse is exceptionally clean for the grade. A couple of small contact marks are noted in the left reverse field, directly in front of the eagle's beak. This coin overall, however, has a premium appearance and will form the centerpiece of an advanced collection of 20th century gold.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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