$20 St. Gaudens

The $20 St. Gaudens Double Eagle gold coin, designed by Augustus St. Gaudens at the urging of President Teddy Roosevelt, is probably the most famous of all American gold coins and without doubt the most beautiful. Expert numismatists, experienced collectors and casual admirers all agree that the $20 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle is one of the most beautiful gold coins ever minted. This beautiful double eagle gold coin is 34.00 mm in diameter and weighs 33.436 grams, was minted from 1907-1916, and again from 1920-1933. Most of the coins minted from 1929 and later never saw the light of day and were nearly all eventually melted following Franklin Roosevelt's Gold Order of 1933.

Featuring a full length image of Miss Liberty on the obverse, it appears as if she is ready to step out of the coin. In her left hand is the torch of enlightenment and she carries an olive branch, symbolic of peace. Nearly missed in the background is the dome of the capitol building. The reverse of the coin is dominated by an eagle in flight with the inscriptions of United States of America and Twenty Dollars arranged in concentric arcs above the eagle.

The initial trial examples of the coins struck in early 1907 were extremely high relief and while quite stunning, required many hits on the press to achieve the desired strike. After banks began complaining about the inability to stack the new gold coins Charles Barber, Chief Engraver, had dies redesigned with a lower relief and changed the Roman date to Arabic numerals. The low relief version was used until minting ended in 1933.

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The St. Gaudens $20 Double Eagle is favored by collectors and investors alike. I don't know of any collector who wouldn't want to own at least one.