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St Gaudens Gold Double Eagles

The St Gaudens Double Eagle - A brief history

The $20 St Gaudens (a.k.a. Saint Gaudens) Gold Double Eagle was first minted in 1907 by the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. Designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens (a noted sculptor of the day) at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt, the $20 St Gaudens replaced the $20 Liberty - in circulation since 1850.

A total of 11,250 St Gaudens high-relief coins were minted in Philadelphia with a Roman numeral date of MCMVII. Today, these coins (even circulated coins in Very Good condition) are worth several thousand dollars. Later in 1907, flat-relief "Saints" were minted with Arabic numerals (1907) and continued that way until 1933.

St Gaudens Double Eagle - Facts and Details

Saint Gaudens Double Eagle - Reverse View Saint Gaudens Double Eagle - Obverse View

The $20 St Gaudens Double Eagle features Standing Lady Liberty on the obverse side. A modified rendition of this popular design was adopted for the Gold American Eagle. The reverse features the image of an eagle in flight amid rays from the sun.

The mint mark is on the obverse side just above the date. Mint marks are "D for the Denver Mint and "S" for the San Francisco Mint. If no mint mark appears, it was minted by the Philadelphia Mint.

The St Gaudens Lady Liberty design was only used on the $20 double eagles. Eagles ($10), Half-Eagles ($5) and Quarter-Eagles ($2.50) used an Indian Head design beginning in 1907. More details on this popular gold coin ...

"No Motto" St. Gaudens

The first St Gaudens Gold Double Eagles were produced without the motto "IN GOD WE TRUST". A total of of 361,667 "no motto" Saints were produced in 1907 and 4,271,551 in 1908 by the Philadelphia Mint. In addition, the Denver Mint produced 663,750 "no motto" Saints in 1908.

In 1908, the Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco Mints began producing St. Gaudens Gold Double Eagles with the motto "IN GOD WE TRUST". This continued until 1933 when on April 5, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt issued an Executive Order confiscating most gold from private ownership for U. S. citizens.

Roughly 70 million (70,000,000) St Gaudens gold coins were minted between 1907 and 1933. About five million (5,000,000) "no motto" Saints and 65 million (65,000,000) "IN GOD WE TRUST" Saints were minted. No one knows for sure how many made it into circulation. In the last year they were minted (1933), none of the 445,500 Saints were place into circulation.

$20 St Gaudens Gold Double Eagle Weights/Measures

Gold content= .9675 Troy ounces, Face value=$20.00, Gold purity = .9000, Gross Weight=1.0750 Troy ounces (33.436 grams), Net weight=.9675 Troy ounces (30.0925 grams)

These are wonderful gold coins. If you are at all interested in owning historic gold coins, the $20 St. Gaudens Gold Double Eagle should be high on your list.

The Saint is very popular and you can expect to pay a pretty good premium over spot gold, especially for uncirculated coins. By shopping around among several reputable dealers, your savings can be significant.

If uncirculated Saints (MS60 and above) are too expensive for you, look for "lightly" circulated ones. The best circulated grades would be Very Fine (VF), Extra Fine (XF or EF), or About Uncirculated (AU).

Disclaimer: I have made every effort to produce an informative and helpful article on $20 St Gaudens Gold Double Eagles based on my research and experiences. However, I make no representation or warranties of any kind with regard to its completeness, accuracy or suitability for any specific situation or purpose. See Terms&Conditions for more info.

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