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

2197

1929 $20 MS64 PCGS. This is the first issue of the fin

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1929 $20 MS64 PCGS. This is the first issue of the fin
<B>1929 $20 MS64 PCGS.</B></I> This is the first issue of the final era in production of Saint-Gaudens double eagles. From 1929 through 1933, mintage quantities remained high for the Philadelphia Mint dates, but distribution was extremely low or virtually non-existent. In 1929, for example, 1.8 million double eagles were minted, yet fewer than 1,000 coins are known today. A few hundred pieces is the likely number that still exist, although Dave Bowers recently suggested that nearly 2,000 coins are extant.<BR> Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth explained the situation regarding this and other, later issues, in their <I>Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins:</B></I> Beginning with the 1929 double eagle and continuing through the 1933 issue, any collector who undertakes obtaining these issues does so with extreme care and financial fortitude. As seen on earlier mintmarked issues, the 1929 double eagle was summarily rounded up and melted down in the 1930s. Few examples of this issue had left the country at this time, as the world economies sunk into a deepening depression, which started in mid-1929 with contracting trade and was loudly announced by the American stock market crash on October 29, 1929."<BR> This Choice Mint State example is typical of those that still survive today. In fact, Garrett and Guth reported an average certified grade of 63.4 along side an average auction grade of 62.6. Both sides of this piece are sharply detailed and highly lustrous with brilliant yellow-gold color. A few tiny surface marks and rim ticks have prevented a higher grade for this piece, keeping it within range of a larger number of collectors. Population: 81 in 64, 26 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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