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North Coast Limited 2

Category:  Series Sets
Owner:  jtryka
Last Modified:  5/8/2018
Set Description
I started this set back in 1999 when I bought my very first Saint-Gaudens double eagle (I think it was the 1924 in MS-62 in this set). It had been a lifelong dream to own just one of these beautiful coins, but now after several years, I am actually seriously pursuing a set! I don't know if I'll ever complete it or come close, but it's certainly a fun trip along the way. More than anything, I am a collector of these coins, so I am creating this set to share it with other collectors (not just Saint or gold collectors, but everyone!) You will likely see a number of coins that seem to make little sense to include in a registry designed for competition, but I am not trying to garner points, just share what I think are some of the most beautiful coins ever produced by the U.S. Mint. I hope you enjoy my set, and maybe even learn something along the way!

Set Goals
This is the custom set to accommodate coins from both grading companies.

Slot Name
Origin/Country
Item Description
Full Grade
Owner Comments
Pics
View Coin   United States $20 1907 SAINT GAUDENS PCGS MS 63 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1908 NO MOTTO NGC MS 64 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1908 D NO MOTTO PCGS MS 64 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1908 MOTTO NGC MS 63 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1908 D MOTTO PCGS MS 63 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!
View Coin   United States $20 1908 S PCGS AU 50 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1909 NGC MS 62 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1909/8 NGC AU 55 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1909 D PCGS AU 55 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1909 S NGC MS 63 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1910 NGC MS 63 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1910 D NGC MS 64 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1910 S NGC MS 63 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1911 NGC MS 62 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1911 D NGC MS 65 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.
View Coin   United States $20 1911 S NGC MS 62 Well, there is nothing much rare about this coin, a fairly common 11-S in a relatively low grade. This coin is very attractive, with a solid strike, and the typical granular frostiness evident on most examples of this date/mint. The thing that does make this coin different is the wonderful frosty luster. Akers has commented in his difinitive work that it's rare to find an 11-S with luster even close to the 10-S or even the 09-S, but this coin has very nice luster, even though it's more frosty than blazing like the many other San Francisco issues of the teens. Overall, it's a very pleasing coin to the senses at a reasonable price for the average collector.
View Coin   United States $20 1912 PCGS MS 63 This coin has particularly nice eye appeal with a thick original skin and rose-gold tone. Like most 1912 Saints, this coin has a very sharp strike. Akers in his definitive work notes that the 1912 is quite rare in higher grades, despite several hoards recovered from Europe in the late 1960s and early 1970s (most of these had excessive bag marks). This is one of those coins that corresponds to a very historical year, as the Titanic sank on April 15th, 1912. Only one mint produced double eagles this year, and not very many at that.
View Coin   United States $20 1913 PCGS MS 62 The 1913 is an extremely tough date, especially in grades above MS-62. Most 1913 Philadelphia issues, exhibit a softer strike, weaker luster, and a somewhat flat appearance. This coin has a thick original skin which masks the luster somwhat (but at least this coin hasn't been dipped to oblivion), but what really caught my eye on this coin was the strike. The coin is fairly well-struck, with strong details in Liberty's face and hands. In many examples of 1913 double eagles I've seen, the face looks somewhat deformed due to the weakness of the strike. Overall, this is a fairly nice example for the grade, and a grade which makes this coin much more affordable for the average collector.
View Coin   United States $20 1913 D NGC MS 62 The 1913-D is not a particularly rare or even scarce coin by any measure. This coin was a recent upgrade, a very nice color and a fairly descent strike with subdued luster.
View Coin   United States $20 1913 S NGC MS 61 Well, this is one of the classic key dates in the series, with a mintage of just 34,000. Despite this low mintage, the coin was widely saved and collected, so they can be found (though it may take a while to find the right one!). I find that the 13-S is much more available than other keys, like the 09-D despite the higher mintage on the latter. This coin has very satisfying luster and strike that belies the grade assigned. Other exciting events of 1913, Woodrow Wilson took office for his first term, and the income tax was put in effect!
View Coin   United States $20 1914 NGC MS 62 The 1914 is another of those better date Saints from Philadelphia with a mintage of just 95,250. And unfortunately, like many other Philadelphia gold coins, this one appears rather dull, with subdued luster, though it has a descent strike. This coin is tough to come by in grades above MS-63, and this example in MS-62 is much more affordable, with pleasing overall surfaces (photos always seem to amplify marks in the fields).
View Coin   United States $20 1914 D NGC MS 63 The 1914-D is a pretty common issue with a mintage of 453,000 and is an idea coin to add for type purposes. Even though the price is not a lot higher than the more common coins of the 1920s, it is a much better date to own. This coin is a nice technical MS-63, but like many Denver issues has a pretty dull appearance. Other events of 1914, much of Europe was plunged into World War I.
View Coin   United States $20 1914 S PCGS MS 63 The 1914-S is a fairly common Saint of the mid-teens with a mintage just under 1.5 million, and this coin in particular has a lot of luster, but unlike many "blazing" San Francisco gold coins, this one has really pleasing frosty luster. It has very clean surfaces for an MS-63, and a solid strike.
View Coin   United States $20 1915 NGC MS 62 This coin is a recent upgrade, and is a very nice example for the grade. Like the 1913, the 1915 Philadelphia issues become quite rare in higher grades, but unlike its cousin two years its elder, the 1915 is most often very sharply struck, with brilliant luster. Akers in his difining book on 20th Century Gold picks the 1915 as the issue with the greatest eye appear of all the W/Motto Philadelphia issues from 1908 to 1915. Looking at this coin, it's easy to agree. Other notable events of 1915, the Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland killing 1,195 passengers and crew, including 128 Americans.
View Coin   United States $20 1915 S NGC MS 63 This coin is a classic example of the beauty of San Francisco gold, with blazing luster that doesn't even begin to show up on these photos! I am not sure why San Fransisco gold seems to have such powerful luster and eye appeal, my guess is that it must have had something to do with the minting process, perhaps the level of polish on dies or the wash used on the planchets before striking, since the actual metal composition must be pretty much identical to the other mints. I have never seen a more beautiful Saint in MS-63 (and I am not saying the grade on the holder is entirely accurate). I've owned higher graded coins of this date, but I am far more proud to showcase this coin in my collection than any of the others I've owned. This one has to be one of my personal favorites.
View Coin   United States $20 1916 S NGC MS 65 Another prime example of San Francisco gold, this coin is a real beauty, with excellent strike, pristine surfaces, and pleasing luster you would expect from a an MS-65 specimen. The 1916-S has a higher mintage than the 1915-S, but surprisingly is much harder to find. This year marks the last year Saints were minted until after World War I, as the Treasury suspended convertibility of dollars into gold for the duration of the war.
View Coin   United States $20 1920 NGC MS 63 The 1920 is one of the last Philadelphia Saints to be minted in lower quantities, just 228,250, making this a somewhat more valuable yet underappreciated issue. The hoards of Philadelphia coins minted and still extant from 1922-1928, make most collectors view Philadelphia coins from the 1920s as common. This decade marks an unusual situation that affects this series and most gold series in that many of the coins were never circulated, so many were melted when they were confiscated in 1933. The 1921, 1929, 1931 and 1932 are far rarer coins than their mintage would suggest.
View Coin   United States $20 1922 PCGS MS 62 This is a fairly common date coin present in many type sets given its affordability in higher grades. This coin may seem pretty low-grade for this set, but I really like the luster and overall appearance of this coin. I've owned higher graded specimens, but none jumped out at me like this one does!
View Coin   United States $20 1922 S PCGS MS 62 Outside of the common 23-D, the 22-S is the easiest of the branch mint Saints in the 1920s. Akers in his 20th Century gold book states that these coins are usually well struck, as this coin is, and he also noted that many have noticable copper spots, which fortunately are absent on this coin. He rates the MS-62 as R-4. Interestingly, like many other issues in this series, the 22-S was once considered a supreme rarity, more rare than the 20-S, 29, 30-S, 31 and 32, but then a hoard was found in Europe in the 1950s, followed by several other hoards in the 1960s and early 1970s, and finally a hoard of more than 200 coins in central America in the 1980s (this could be a useful lesson to collectors of other series which are subject to additional coins surfacing). Overall, this coin has beautiful luster, and a thick original skin, that has not been toyed with over the last 82 years.
View Coin   United States $20 1923 PCGS MS 64 This coin is actually a pretty nice example of this date (photos always exaggerate the marks and planchet flaws). It's certainly common in MS-63 and lower, but tougher when you get to MS-64 and MS-65, and almost impossible above MS-65 (Akers rated this issue an R-1 in MS-60 to MS-62, R-3 in MS-63 jumping to low R-6 in MS-64 and high R-6 in MS-65). Generally these are fairly well struck, though most have weakness around the Capitol building and nearby stars, though this one has nice details in the Capitol with moderate weakness by the stars, a little better than usual. However, there is some weakness in the torch and hand. Like many other examples of this date, this one has a partial wire rim (unfortunately obscured by the holder), you can see a little of it in the photo above the IBE in Liberty on the obverse, and a large section of the reverse extending from the I in United almost to the eagle's tail feathers.

1923 was the year that Calvin Coolidge became President of the United States, after President Harding died of a heart attack in San Francisco in August of that year. Calvin Coolidge was a leader known for his frugality with words. According to the White House biography (at www.whitehouse.gov) he once explained to Bernard Baruch why he often sat silently through interviews: "Well, Baruch, many times I say only 'yes' or 'no' to people. Even that is too much. It winds them up for twenty minutes more." One of my favorite stories about Coolidge revolved around a wager at a dinner party. His wife, Grace Goodhue Coolidge, recounted that a young woman sitting next to Coolidge at a dinner party confided to him she had bet she could get at least three words of conversation from him. Without looking at her he quietly retorted, "You lose." Sometimes I think we'd be better served if more of our leaders followed the example of "Silent Cal" and listened more and spoke less.
View Coin   United States $20 1923 D PCGS MS 64 This is the last common date hole to be filled in this set. Certainly the 1923-D is the most common branch mint issue of the 1920s and arguably the most common branch date issue in the series. Akers rates this coin as a common R-1 in all grades through MS-64, but in my efforts to find an MS-64 for this set it was a little more challenging than I expected. A few years ago, this issue in this grade sold for little more than bullion value, but today they are harder to find and sell for a premium. This example is like most 23-D's, it's well struck, very lustrous and has a wonderful copper gold color.
View Coin   United States $20 1924 PCGS MS 62 This is the coin that stated it all! My very first Saint-Gaudens double eagle, fulfillment of dream I've had of owning one since my early days as a collector (when I was about 12 years old). I bought this one in 1999, settling for a lower grade since I assumed incorrectly that I wouldn't be able to afford a higher graded specimen. Since that time I have owned a lot of higher graded 1924s, but this one is still in my collection! It's a real beauty, far nicer than many MS-63s and higher graded coins I've seen. Maybe it's sentimental, and maybe it's just a great coin, either way it's one of my favorite coins in this set.
View Coin   United States $20 1924 D NGC UNC Details It's been so long since I've added a coin to an empty slot in this set, feels kinda good! The first time I've completed a P-D-S set for any date in the 1920s! Yes, this coin is a problem coin, from the photos it looks pretty darn good, but when you look from different angles and under a loupe, you can definitely see the hairlines and scratches of a cleaning effort gone horribly wrong. But I knew that going in, and quite frankly it made this coin more affordable to fill that hole! Things have changed so much since I started this set more than a decade ago, back then Saints were a dime a dozen, ok, maybe $3,600 a dozen, but still that was really cheap! And filling those early holes came easy, but now it might be years between getting that exhilaration from taking one step closer to completing this set. That said, I filled a hole affordably, and I'm pretty happy with the result. Now to the coin, aside from the problems, the 1924-D had an original mintage of 3,049,500 coins, making it super common, at least until FDR took office and hunted these down until they were endangered species! Now in the latest edition of Aker's guidebook, the 24-D is ranked 17th overall out of 53 coins in the set with an estimated population in MS-60 and higher of 700-750 coins. This issue typically has very nice eye appeal, frosty luster and good color. On the downside, most survivors are found to be heavily abraded, and the strike tends to be much softer around the edges due to die deterioration (as evidenced by the 4 in the date of this particular example). Overall, a pretty coin that fills a long empty hole at a price I could afford, what more could I ask?
View Coin   United States $20 1924 S NGC MS 62 This is the second branch mint coin from the 1920s that I have been fortunate enought to add to this set. This coin is graded MS-62 by NGC, but from the photos it looks like it might be AU, so what gives? Did I get ripped off? Well, here is my explanation since I have the coin in hand and can see it much better than the camera. This coin has an exceptionally weak strike, probably the weaked I have in my collection. This weakness is most notable in the face, the high points of liberty's torso, and most pronounced in the 4 of the date (see how it looks kind of flat and wide?). Most AU coins will have the telltale "rub" or minor scratches and marks on the high points. While this coin has little detail on the obverse high points, it does have some bag marks on the high points, but no friction, again indicative of a weak strike. Overall, this coin is gorgeous! Beyond its rarity (don't let the mintage fool you!) it is a beautiful lustrous specimen, with clean fields and a delightfully original surface characterized by a light irridescent bluish and turquiose toning, most noticable around the edges. I am very happy to add this one to my collection!
View Coin   United States $20 1925 NGC MS 63 Well, what can I say? This is one of the most common dates in the series (Akers ranks it 50th out of 54), but I figured with the recent pullback in gold prices it would be an opportune time to fill this long-empty hole in my set. This coin like most 1925 Philadelphia issues is very sharply struck with great detail in Liberty's face, hands and feet. The coin has nice surfaces with few marks and great luster for the grade. Overall a pleasing example of this common date.
View Coin   United States $20 1925 D PCGS MS 62 Wow, it's probably been a couple years since I filled a hole in this set, that's how hard it's getting! This was a recent opportune purchase (and one that likely blows my coin budget for a while!) that completes my second 1920s P-D-S sets. Based on David Akers' difinitive guide to 20th Century Gold Coins (2nd edition), the 2015-D ranks 14th of the 53 coins in the series in terms of rarity with total known mint state population of 475-560 coins. Despite the high mintage of 2,938,500 coins, the vast majority were melted in FDR's gold recall of 1933 and was once considered far rarer before a number of European bank hoards were discovered in the 1950s. Like most examples, this one has nice gold color and moderately abraded surfaces, but she's still pretty!
View Coin   United States $20 1925 S NGC AU 55 What a proud moment, my first branch mint Saint from the 1920s! I remember when I first started collecting this series, I was puzzled at why coins with such huge mintages were so expensive, and then I read about the mass melts of the 1930s. Surely, no other coins in history have been "hunted to extinction" like the late issue gold denominations, most prominently double eagles. Well, if you are willing, these rare coins are not totally out of reach, but rest assured they are extremely difficult to find. The 1925-S is a rare exception among this etherial group of coins in that some of them actually circulated, thus making it possible to find a nice AU example like this coin. For most mintmarked Saints of the 1920s graded by NGC, less than 10% are graded below MS-60, but for the 1925-S, more than 40% of the coins graded are circulated.
View Coin   United States $20 1926 PCGS MS 64 This is a very nice common date Saint that I picked up at a reasonable price. It's in an old "rattler" PCGS holder, which is annoying, but I guess I don't have the motivation to have it re-holdered. It is a nice coin though, very smooth luster, and a descent strike. Overall a pretty nice coin. Also, at the Portland ANA in 2004, David Lange looked at this coin and informed me that it was the triple die obverse variety. I don't know how scarce that variety is since I've seldom seen it mentioned, but it does add to the interesting nature of this coin. As for the year, 1926 was the year English humorist and children's storyteller Alan Alexander Milne invented "Winnie the Pooh" to the delight of children across the world, including this one!
View Coin   United States $20 1926 S NGC AU 55 Here is a nice AU 26-S, unfortunately it has the surface marks and abrasions consistent with the grade, but the biggest distracting mark is right near the mintmart (the most important place on this coin!). The reverse however is very nice, with relatively few marks for the grade. The rims are also somewhat rounded, which is somewhat uncommon on this issue as opposed to other S-mint issues of the 1920s. Akers in his difinitive work ranks this coin 18th out of 54 in mint state, with an extant population of 150 to 200, and nearly all mint state. That makes this issue the most common of the mintmarked issues from 1924-27, but that's ok, I'll take it!
View Coin   United States $20 1927 PCGS MS 64 Well, not a lot of excitement here, this is one of the most common Saints in the series. This coin was an early addition to my collection, and has pleasing luster and strike, overall a solid coin for the grade.
View Coin   United States $20 1928 NGC MS 64 This is the last of the affordable common date coins in the series, after 1928 things get interesting! This coin is a very pleasing example, with solid strike, nice luster and eye appeal and pristine surfaces! This coin matches up well with about any MS-65 coin I've seen, but somehow it ended up in an MS-64 holder. That's fine by me, I am certainly happy to buy stunning coins in lower grade holders at lower grade prices any time!

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