| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1907 SAINT GAUDENS |
| Grade: |
PCGS MS 63 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
This is a very nice coin, and has very nice luster and strike given it's the first year of issue (at least for the low-relief). This year is an ironic issue, as it was the first year of production but also the last year of Augustus Saint-Gaudens' life. Despite the artist's (yes he was an artist, not a designer) desire for the beauty of the high-relief version of the coin, prudence and bankers demanded a more user friendly coin. This coin was the result, as adjusted by another famous coin designer, Charles E. Barber.
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1908 NO MOTTO |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 64 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
This is a very appealing example for the grade, but given the higher mintages, this coin is pretty common. The release of a hoard of high grade specimens dubbed "Wells Fargo" has made this coin available and affordable even in grades above MS-65. By the way, the high-grade hoard was not owned by Wells Fargo, though I believe they were stored in a safe deposit vault at a Wells Fargo branch in Nevada.
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1908 D NO MOTTO |
| Grade: |
PCGS MS 64 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
Despite the similarity to the 1908 NM, this coin is quite a bit more difficult and costly to locate in higher grades (i.e. above MS-62). This coin was a recent upgrade of one of the very first coins I purchased when starting this set.
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1908 MOTTO |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 63 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
In mid-1908, after considerable public agitation for it, the motto "In God We Trust" was added to the reverse of Saint-Gaudens' double eagle design. In addition to adding the motto, the obverse hub and dies were strengthened, resulting in a more sharp and detailed image of Liberty on subsequent pieces. This coin is typical of the issue, with a sharp strike and a frosty appearance, subdued luster, and a greenish gold color. Akers rates the 1908 WM as a Scarce R-4 to R-5 in MS-63, and downright rare (R-7) in any higher grade.
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1908 D MOTTO |
| Grade: |
PCGS MS 63 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
This is one of the scarcer issues in the series, which Akers rates an R-4 in MS-63 (though overall he ranks it 31st out of 54). When the motto was added in 1908, the details on the master hub were strengthened resulting in most 1908 With Motto Saints being much more sharp in detail than their bretheren without mottos. Like most examples, this coin exhibits pleasing yet subdued luster and a more granular surface with a nice orange-green gold tone. This issue was once considered an extremely underrated issue until 1983 when a hoard of several hundred pieces were discovered in Central America. Overall a very pleasing addition to my set!
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1908 S |
| Grade: |
PCGS AU 50 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
This coin was a long time coming, as filling holes in this set has become a much more challenging endeavor with fewer empty slot left to address. Although just an AU coin, this one has very nice eye appeal in my opinion, showing some honest wear for the quarter century it was allowed in the wild. In his second edition, Akers rated this coin 12th of 53 in mint state, with an estimated population of 210-275 coins, so this one is rather consistent with the lowest mintage of the low-relief series of just 22,000 coins.
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1909 |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 62 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
Like many Philadelphia-minted gold coins, the 1909 is really undervalued and underappreciated. Although many Philadelphia coins are much lower mintage than their branch mint counterparts, many collectors less familiar with this series assume they are quite common given the proliferation of Philadelphia coins in other series. The 1909 gets a double whammy given the attention paid to the famous 1909/08 overdate. There are no solid estimates of the percentage of 1909s that are the overdate variety, but the regular 1909 may very well be nearly as scarce in higher grades. This 1909 is a very attractive specimen with a solid strike and nice luster, but the number on the holder makes this beauty much more affordable.
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1909/8 |
| Grade: |
NGC AU 55 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
This 1909/08 was graded AU-55 by NGC, and it is a really nice coin, lots of luster for the grade. These coins can get really expensive once you get to mint state, so this coin is a nice compromise. It's also an earlier die state, but the flatness is due to the dies rather than the strike. This is the only overdate in gold from 1907-33, and the dies were left over from the 1908 NM issue, so the obverse has the same flatness as seen in the 1908 No Motto. Despite the flatness of the dies, this coin has a lot of detail, hence my belief that this is an earlier die state. Overall, this is a very pleasing and affordable example of the single overdate in the series.
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1909 D |
| Grade: |
PCGS AU 55 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
This is one tough coin to find in any grade! Even though the 1909-D has the third-lowest mintage of the W/Motto series at 52,000 it seem this coin is always more difficult to find than the other early key dates, the 1908-S and 1913-S. Typically, only a handful of this date make an appearance at major auctions in a given year. This coin is a solid AU-55, there is some wear on the high points, but ultimately the nice appearance and the scarcity of the date make this one of my favorite coins.
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1909 S |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 63 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
This is a very nice example of a San Francisco minted double eagle. It is solid for an MS-63, and has the great eye appeal and luster typical of gold minted in San Francisco.
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1910 |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 63 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
Although I believe that many Philadelphia minted coins in the series are underrated, it's easy to see why. This coin is a nice technical MS-63, but it just doesn't have the flashy eye appeal of it's S-mint cousins.
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1910 D |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 64 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
This coin is generously graded as MS-64, and although technically a solid coin for the grade, the lifeless appearance of the coin makes this one of my least favorite coins in the set.
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1910 S |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 63 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
This is a very pretty 1910-S Saint, with very clean surfaces and a solid strike for the grade. It has relatively few detracting marks, and it has wonderful creamy luster which is fairly common for San Francisco coins minted in the early teens. The early S-mint coins certainly didn't have the blazing luster so often found in their siblings from 1915 and 1916, but this more subdued luster with rich gold tone provides more than adequate eye candy. A reasonably common coin, but a beauty to behold just the same.
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1911 |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 62 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
The 1911 is one of the underrated Philadelphia issues from the teens which are often overlooked by collectors. With an original mintage of 197,350 the 1911 Saint is more common than its brethren from 1912 through 1915, though this issue becomes very difficult in grades higher than MS-62. Akers in his definitive work rates this issue R-5 (very scarce) in MS-60 to MS-62, moving to a low R-6 (rare) in MS-63 to an R-7 (very rare) above that grade. This coin like many issues of this date is sharply struck with very nice detail in Liberty’s head, though there is some weakness in the hand and torch. The surfaces are slightly granular and frosty, but the luster leaves a little to be desired, however it is better than many I’ve seen in both higher and lower grades. Many times this issue will exhibit below average luster and an overall dull appearance.
There were also many important events in 1911, including the first Indianapolis 500 race on May 30, and a collision between the RMS Olympic (sister ship to the RMS Titanic) and Royal Navy cruiser HMS Hawke outside Southampton on September 20. E.J. Smith who was Captain of the Olympic during the accident, went on to captian the RMS Titanic on her ill-fated maiden voyage the next year. Unlike her two unfortunate sister ships, Titanic and Brittanic, Olympic survived the accident and went on to serve a long career until she was withdrawn from service in 1935 and later scrapped.
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| Slot: |
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| Origin/Country: |
United States |
| Design Description: |
DOUBLE EAGLES - SAINT-GAUDENS |
| Item Description: |
$20 1911 D |
| Grade: |
NGC MS 65 |
| Research: |
View Coin |
Owner Comments
What can I say? Denver Saints just look horrible! Especially when compared with the beauty, strike and luster of their cousins from San Francisco. D-mint coins, especially in the early teens (i.e. 1909-1914), tend to have a weak strike, and very dull surfaces. So despite any technical grades, most 11-D Saints look at least as dull and lifeless as this one. Do I agree with the grade? Well, I think this one is borderline, but I probably would have graded it MS-64. Maybe someday if I get motivated I'll send this one in for a second opinion.
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