LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Dallas Signature Coin Auction #450  / 

2087

1909/8 $20 MS66 NGC. The 1909/8 was the only overdate

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1909/8 $20 MS66 NGC. The 1909/8 was the only overdate
<B>1909/8 $20 MS66 NGC.</B></I> The 1909/8 was the only overdate produced in the Saint-Gaudens double eagle series. It was first discovered in 1910, and written up by Edgar H. Adams in the June 1910 issue of <I>The Numismatist</B></I> (Vol. XXIII, No. 5). Adams' interpretation of the 1909/8 overdate is presented here in its entirety: "Overstruck dates are those where the die of one year has been altered to do service for the succeeding one. The last figure in the date is usually gouged out and replaced by the new one, but seldom is this operation conducted so skillfully that traces of it are not left. Of course the reason for this is to save money in the making of the dies, and the practice has by no means been abandoned altogether, for careful scrutiny of the Saint-Gaudens $20 piece of 1909 will reveal traces of what seems to have been the alteration of the figure 8 to 9."<BR> Today we understand that an overdate is not produced in the manner related by Adams in 1910. Gold specialist Roger Burdette goes into a more in-depth explanation of the 1909/8 double eagle: "Sometime in late 1908 the die sinkers prepared working dies in the usual manner. This required several strikes (more like "squeezes") from a hydraulic press of the working hub to produce a complete working die. This process occurred over several days, and for a coin the diameter of a double eagle, may have required a total of four or more strikes to complete a single working die. Evidently, one of the die sinkers accidentally got his hands on a 1908 hub and used that to make some impressions. He then switched back to the correct 1909 hub and completed the working die." Burdette goes on to say: "Normally, the sharp-eyed engraver Charles Barber would have checked working dies before releasing them to the coiner. But much of Barber's attention may have been given to the new sunken relief gold half- and quarter-eagles designed by Bela Pratt, and the overdated die went to the coining department. The finished obverse die for this curious numismatic variety was used and finally discarded. Apparently no one in the coining department realized that a 1909/8 overdate had been created. If they did, no action to condemn the coins was taken."<BR> The peach-gold surfaces of the Premium Gem in this lot exhibit dazzling luster, and possess a pleasing grainy finish. The strike is well executed, and manifests itself in sharp definition on the panes of the Capitol building, Liberty's face, fingers, and toes, and the eagle's plumage. The few minute marks that are present on each side do not distract, and are well within the parameters of the grade designation. NGC and PCGS combined have certified, to date, only nine examples in MS66, and none finer (3/07).<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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