LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 Jan. FUN Signature Coin Auction #454  / 

3356

1907 $20 High Relief, Flat Rim MS66 PCGS

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:70,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1907 $20 High Relief, Flat Rim MS66 PCGS
<B>1907 $20 High Relief, Flat Rim MS66 PCGS.</B></I> Ships have been important staples as devices on American coinage for years. Historic vessels such as the <I>Santa Maria</B></I>, the <I>Mayflower</B></I>, the <I>Nieuw Nederland</B></I>, the <I>Half Moon</B></I>, and the <I>Kalmar Nyckel</B></I> have appeared on classic and modern commemoratives alongside unnamed boats in the San Francisco Bay and a number of harbors. One of the most important ships in the history of American numismatics, however, does not appear on a coin. When the <I>Desdemona</B></I> arrived in New York in 1848, among the passengers fleeing the Great Irish Famine were Bernard and Mary Saint-Gaudens, along with their to-be-famous infant son, Augustus.<BR> Though he was hardly the first immigrant to reshape the nation's coinage (John Reich, the Barbers, and George T. Morgan come to mind), the reputation and talent that Augustus Saint-Gaudens mustered for his contributions to American money reverberate to this day. The story of Saint-Gaudens and Roosevelt is a story for the ages, with the will of the ambitious second-term President and the vision of the cancer-stricken artist fighting against the oppressive forces of Charles Barber and the rest of the Mint establishment.<BR> The collaboration between the unlikely duo resulted in tangible mementoes: the coveted and iconic High Relief double eagles. This spectacular Premium Gem shows no trace of a wire rim. The luminous butter-yellow and antique-gold surfaces are wonderfully well-preserved, and the profoundly sculptural, decisively struck devices are equally exquisite. A marvelous exemplar that would make an attractive addition to any coin cabinet.<BR><I>From The Madison Collection.</B></I><BR><BR><B>Coin Engraver:</B> Augustus Saint-Gaudens<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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