Very Rare- Uncirculated- 1907 High Relief Saint-Gaudens Gold $20 Double Eagle - Wire Edge - PCGS Certified MS-63

Get a great deal with this online auction for an uncirculated high relief Saint-Gaudens gold $20 double eagle presented by Property Room on behalf of a law enforcement or public agency client.

The 1907 High Relief Gold $20 Double Eagle, with a very low mintage of only 12,367 pieces, is perhaps the most beautiful coin the United States ever issued for normal circulation.  All High Reliefs were struck a minimum of three to five times.   This particular piece is an example of the Wire Edge variety.

The 1907 High Relief Gold $20 Double Eagle is the highest valued U.S. coin for its rarity.  

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

The gorgeous 1907 High Relief double eagles show Augustus Saint-Gaudens' design before Charles Barber made several drastic changes. Unsurprisingly, when Theodore Roosevelt chose Saint-Gaudens to begin the redesign of American coinage, he offended Barber, who was chief engraver at the mint. Not only did Barber feel highly qualified to do any designs that needed to be done, but he resented that his coins--especially the dime, quarter, and half dollar--would potentially be changed by an outside artist.

The rivalry between Charles Barber and Augustus Saint-Gaudens began well over a decade before the "Renaissance of American Coinage," as Roger Burdette and others have called it. They both judged a public competition for coinage redesign in 1891 and summarily rejected all of the entries. The following year they would clash again over the design for the Columbian Exposition award medal. Saint-Gaudens felt that Barber knew nothing of art, while Barber felt that Saint-Gaudens knew nothing of coinage. This impasse caused considerable delay and turmoil when Saint-Gaudens submitted his high relief designs to the Mint.

Barber has been accused of being jealous of Saint-Gaudens' talents, and while that is probably accurate, he did have a detailed knowledge of modern coining requirements. By the end of 1907, Barber had completely changed the double eagle hub, and as a result all issues other than the High Reliefs (and the very rare Ultra High Reliefs) differ significantly from the artist's original intentions. For collectors who desire an example of Saint-Gaudens' remarkable design as it was meant to appear, the 1907 High Relief is the only option.

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