Owner Comments:
The certification services have a hard time grading these coins because of light strikes. This design is almost always weakly struck in the center to varying degrees. The hair below the word “LIBERTY” is almost always weakly defined.
This design is based upon the models that Henry Hering and Homer St. Gaudens, Augustus St. Gaudens’ son, submitted for use in the die making process. Charles Barber added the rims to make the coin acceptable for commerce. This “no periods” design was preceded by two production runs of coins that proved to be inadequate. Five hundred “wire rim” pieces were minted in June 1907. Rims caused problems because the coins would not stack properly and the rim was easily detached from the coin that would have lowered the gold content of the piece. In September the Philadelphia mint 31,500 examples of the rounded rim type. All but 50 of these coins were subsequently melted per the orders of the mint director.
The omission of the motto, “In God we trust,” bothered many members of Congress. In 1908 Congress passed legislation that required the addition of the motto to the designs, which occurred mid way though that year.
The coin shown above features vibrant luster and almost mark-free surfaces. A small mark just above Ms. Liberty’s chin probably accounts for the MS-64 grade. Had it not bee for that mark, this piece would have graded MS-65 or 66.