The 1904 Double Eagle, Liberty Head design
The 1924 Double Eagle, Saint Gaudens' design
A Double Eagle is a gold coin of the United
States with a denomination of $20. Although the "eagle"-based nomenclature for gold U.S. coinage is often assumed to be a
nickname, the "eagle," "half-eagle" and "quarter-eagle" were specifically given these names in the Act of Congress that originally authorized them ("An Act establishing a Mint, and regulating Coins of
the United States", section 9, April 2, 1792). Likewise, the
Double Eagle was specifically created as such by name ("An Act to authorize the Coinage of Gold Dollars and Double Eagles", title
and section 1, March 3, 1849).
The first double eagle was minted in 1849, coinciding with the California Gold
Rush. In that year, the mint produced two pieces in proof. The first resides in the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington
DC. The second was presented to then Treasury Secretary William M. Meredith
and was later sold as part of his estate - the present location of this coin remains unknown.
In 1850 regular production began and continued until 1933. Prior to 1850, eagles with a denomination of $10 were the largest
denomination of US coin. $10 eagles were produced beginning in 1795, just two years after the first U.S. mint opened. Since the $20 gold piece had twice the value of the eagle, these coins were
designated "double eagles".
Regular issue
Regular issue double eagles come in two major types and six minor varieties as follows:
- Liberty Head (Coronet) 1849–1907
- Liberty Head, no motto, value "Twenty D." 1849–1866
- Liberty Head, with motto, value "Twenty D." 1866–1876
- Liberty Head, with motto, value "Twenty Dollars" 1877–1907
- Saint Gaudens 1907–1933
- Saint Gaudens, High Relief, Roman Numerals, no motto 1907
- Saint Gaudens, Low Relief, Arabic Numerals, no motto 1907–1908
- Saint Gaudens, Low Relief, Arabic Numerals, with motto 1908–1933
Liberty Head
Due to the less desirable artwork and therefore lower demand, Liberty Coronet $20 gold pieces are less often encountered, and
the common subtype commands less, than the St. Gaudens' type. In 1866, the motto "In God We
Trust" was added to the Liberty Coronet double eagle creating a second subtype. In 1877, the coin's denomination design on
the reverse was changed from "Twenty D" to "Twenty Dollars" creating a third and final subtype for the series. An 1879 pattern
coin was made for the quintuple stella using a design combining features of
the Liberty head double eagle and stella pattern coin and using the same alloy as the stella (60 parts gold, 3 parts silver, and
7 parts copper).
Saint Gaudens
-
The St. Gaudens double eagle is named for the designer, Augustus St. Gaudens, one of the premier sculptors in American history. Theodore Roosevelt imposed upon him in his last few years to redesign the nation's coinage at the
beginning of the 20th century. St. Gaudens' work on the high-relief $20 gold piece is considered to be one of the most
extraordinary pieces of art on any American coin. The mint eventually insisted on a low-relief version, as the high-relief coin
took up to eleven strikes to bring up the details and didn't stack correctly for banking purposes. Only 12,367 of these coins
were struck in 1907. These coins easily top the $10,000 price in circulated grades, but can reach nearly a half million dollars
in the best states of preservation.
There were several changes in the early years of this design. The first coins issued in 1907 design featured a date in Roman
numerals, but this was changed later that year to the more convenient Arabic numerals. The motto "In God We Trust" was omitted from the initial design, as Roosevelt felt that it was inappropriate to put
the name of God on money. By act of Congress, the motto was added in mid-1908.
The design of the St. Gaudens coin was slightly changed once more when New Mexico and
Arizona became states in 1912, and the number of stars along the rim was accordingly increased
from 46 to 48.
Double eagles were routinely minted through 1933, although few of the very last years' coinages were released before the gold
recall legislation of that year. Accordingly, these issues bring very high prices.
The St. Gaudens obverse design was reused in the American Eagle gold bullion coins that were instituted in 1986. The early
1907 double eagles and the 1986-1991 gold American Eagles are the only instances of Roman numerals denoting the date on American
coinage.
1933 Double Eagle
-
In 1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt stopped
the coinage of gold and made it illegal to own the metal (although coin collectors could retain their pieces). With one exception
no 1933 double eagles were ever legally released, although some were stolen from the government and over the years several were
recovered.
In the summer of 2002, a 1933 Double Eagle was auctioned off for $7,590,020 US,
which shattered the old record of $4,140,000 paid at a public auction for an 1804 silver dollar. This piece is unique as the only
1933 double eagle the U.S. government has deemed legal for its
citizens to own. Even illegal instances of the 1933 double eagle would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but it would be
illegal for a U.S. coin dealer to broker a deal with one of these coins. There is no other date of St. Gauden's double eagle that
is worth a significant fraction of this extraordinary coin. In fact a complete uncirculated set of all other St. Gaudens' double
eagles could be put together for just over three million dollars (less than half the price paid for the 1933) including the
extremely rare, ultra-high relief, proof pattern. Without the rare pattern, the set would be less than $750,000.
In August 2005, the United States Mint recovered ten unauthorized 1933 Double
Eagle coins from a private collector who had contacted the United States Mint to facilitate their surrender. Joan S. Langbord has
claimed that she inherited the coins from her father, a suspect in the original theft, but is now planning a federal suit to
recover the coins after her hopes of receiving monetary compensation from the federal government were not realized. As of August
2005, the Mint has announced that it would consider saving the coins for display, though as of February 2007, no formal statement
has since been made. [1]
References
- ^ "U.S. Mint confiscates
10 rare gold coins", USA Today, published 25 August 2005, retrieved 30 January 2007
See also
External links
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