LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Sept. Long Beach Signature Coin Auction  / 

4065

1913-S $20 MS65 PCGS

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:22,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1913-S $20 MS65 PCGS
<B>1913-S $20 MS65 PCGS.</B></I> Of the 52 different Saint-Gaudens double eagle issues, the 1913-S has the third lowest recorded mintage of coins at just 34,000 pieces. Only the 1907 High Relief and the 1908-S can boast of lower mintage figures. Fortunately for collectors of this series, many coins were saved and examples, at least in ordinary grades, are available for only a slight premium. However, advanced collectors who seek the finest specimens for their collections are not so lucky, as Gem examples of this popular issue are very rare. NGC and PCGS have graded a combined total of only 26 MS65 1913-S twenties with one finer, a lone MS66 at PCGS (8/07). And how many of the 26 Gem pieces were submitted two, three, or even four times in pursuit of an MS66 holder? <BR> Sloppy workmanship is one factor responsible for the lack of high grade examples of this date. Garrett and Guth explain in their <I>Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins</B></I>: "Quality control slipped a bit for this San Francisco issue, with many coins showing copper spots from improperly mixed alloys. The strikes also tend to be a challenge. With time and care, fully struck MS64 coins can be obtained, but in Gem MS65 grades, this date is very rare indeed." Breen (1988) notes that many of the Uncirculated 1913-S double eagles extant came from French bank hoards in the mid-1950s, but most of them display "extensive bag marks." The Smithsonian Institution's finest specimen grades MS63, further illustrating the conditional rarity of this issue. <BR> This is a fully detailed example that has bright, satiny mint luster. There are no obvious or distracting marks on either side of this low mintage, condition rarity in the Saint-Gaudens series. Population: 19 in 65, 1 finer (8/07).<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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