LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 February Long Beach Signature Coin #460  / 

2785

1907 $20 High Relief, Flat Rim MS67 NGC

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:125,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1907 $20 High Relief, Flat Rim MS67 NGC
<B>1907 $20 High Relief, Flat Rim MS67 NGC.</B></I> We are always pleased to offer a selection of High Relief double eagles in our sales, and it seems that multiple examples appear in each of our auctions. It also seems that bidders always covet these coins when they are offered. Who can argue that the lovely design created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens is not the most beautiful design that has ever appeared on any American coin? In fact, when the U.S. Mint was seeking a design for the American Eagle gold coinage program in the middle 1980s, they elected to reproduce the classic elegance of the Saint-Gaudens design to represent the best that America has ever produced.<BR> Relating the events leading up to the creation of the design have literally filled books. Most recently, Roger W. Burdette has recalled the events in <I>Renaissance of American Coinage 1905-1908. </B></I>In fact, his series of three books that cover the period from 1905 to 1921 should be included in every numismatic library. Burdette's work serves as a "how-to" guide for all future numismatic researchers. Rather than simply recite what had already been written, Burdette spent untold hours digging for the truth. In the Foreword to the first volume, David Enders Tripp writes: "What Roger Burdette has provided us with is a much needed book on a pivotal chapter of American numismatic history. He has also provided us with a marvelous primer on how future American numismatic references may be approached."<BR> The author of the coinage renaissance was President Theodore Roosevelt who expressed great displeasure with the then current coinage designs. Early in 1905, Roosevelt aggressively pursued the plan to create new coins for all denominations, starting with the gold coins. Burdette quotes from a January 17, 1905 letter, sent by Roosevelt to Saint-Gaudens: "It appears that under the law the silver coinage can not be changed until 1917, and the five cent nickel piece cannot be changed until 1908. The gold coins and the one cent piece are the only ones that can be changed now without act of Congress. But I suppose the gold coins are really the most important. Could you make designs for these; what would be the expense?"<BR> A short time later, terms of the coinage redesign commission were established, again reproduced from <I>American Coinage Renaissance: </B></I>"1. Saint-Gaudens would make obverse and reverse coin designs; 2. These would be used on the gold coins and the cent; 3. Saint-Gaudens would provide hubs (steel reductions); 4. If additional designs were needed the compensation would be adjusted; 5. The fee was to be $5,000, but negotiable based on available funds." At the beginning of 1905, all seemed to be in place, and a two-year-long struggle began between Saint-Gaudens and the Mint, leading to the most beautiful coin design ever created.<BR> The present example, while not the finest ever certified, is a top-quality piece with few peers. It is especially important as a representative of the scarce Flat Rim variety, seen only about one-third as often as the Wire Rim variant. Rich honey-gold surfaces exhibit a slight greenish appearance that adds to the overall eye appeal of this brilliant, satiny piece. It is a Superb Gem with sharp design elements to create a remarkable medallic appearance. Census (Flat Rim): 12 in 67, 3 finer (1/08).<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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