The Double Eagle Gold Coin
| The Double Eagle Gold CoinThe story of the double eagle gold coin begins with U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907. The president sought out a noted American sculptor by the name of Augustus Saint Gaudens to improve the look of the nations coins. Saint Gaudens was already famous for his sculptures of Civil war heroes. These sculptures can still be seen today. Saint-Gaudens first job was to make some U.S. gold coins more attractive.
Saint Gaudens provided a new gold coin design but it proved tricky to make. The U.S. Mint tried to create the 34 millimeter diameter super high relief coin but the press technology of the day was not up to the task. They ended up making 19 trial coins before coming to the conclusion that the coin was just too hard to make for mass production.
| A second attempt was made with a smaller 27 millimeter diameter coin design which involved fusing two gold eagle coins together in the press. The coin ended up being twice as thick and was nicknamed the "double eagle". This prototype coin was never put into production, and all but a few were melted down.
The final attempt involved going back to the original 34 millimeter diameter design but making the coin with less relief. This coin was made with Roman numerals just like the original design and 12,000 coins were successfully minted and scooped up by collectors.
| A new 20 dollar gold coinThe 20 dollar gold coin was reissued using arabic numbers in 1907 with a much higher production run of 361,000 coins. These St Gaudens double eagles are worth anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 today, that is, if you can find one. The mint continued making Double eagles up until 1933, with minor changes. In 1908, the inscription "In God we trust" was added and in 1914, the number of stars on the coin was increased to 48 from 46.
In 1933, the USA went off the gold standard. By law, all existing us mint gold coin inventory including the double eagles was supposed to be melted down. There were probably a few individuals who saved these beautiful coins from the furnace back then. But no one knows for sure. All we know is that 1 coin survived. That 1933 Double eagle is the most valuable united states gold coin. When it surfaced and was identified it sold at auction for $7 million. 10 More are supposed to exist but as yet the coins have not been authenticated.
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Saint Gaudens was also responsible for the Indian head design on the $10 gold eagle. Tragically Saint Gaudens died of cancer in 1907 after creating the most beautiful coins in the U.S. mints inventory. The artists life work and history are preserved at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire where his home has been turned into a museum and a national historic site.
A new twenty dollar gold coin for 2009In 2009, the U.S. mint will issue a twenty dollar gold coin to commemorate the work of Augustus Saint Gaudens. On May 2, 2008, the U.S. Mint reported that Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson has given the go-ahead for the one-ounce, ultra-high relief, 24-karat gold coins dated 2009.
The coins will go on sale in early 2009 and there will be no limit to how many are minted in that year, the U.S. mint will make as many as they can sell, continuing into 2010 if necessary. The coins will be 50% thicker than any current U.S. Gold coins. The extra thickness is necessary to achieve the super high relief used on the coin.
Without doubt some of these twenty dollar gold coin commeratives will start showing up on Ebay in 2009 and most likely they will be a sought after item. They wont be as valuable as a 1907 Saint Gaudens but they will certainly be a hot commodity and will enable many coin collectors to own a valuable and historic U.S. coin.
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