Double Eagle Gold Coins – Origins of Rare Coin

The Golden Double Eagle

History was made with the introduction of the golden $20 double eagle in 1849.  Prior to its creation, the $10 eagle was the highest denomination on circulated coinage.  Even to this day, the double eagle has remained the largest denomination coin to ever be circulated in the United States.  It was the excitement, wealth and large influx of gold generated by the California Gold Rush that made minting a coin in a higher denomination necessary.  The double eagle was given its name by the same Act of Congress that originally approved the $10 eagle, but was called the double eagle due to the fact that it was worth twice as much. 

Liberty head double eagle

The 1849 Liberty head, $20 gold coin was the first of the double eagles to be minted in the United States.  This coin was experimental, or a Pattern at its first issue and is one of the rarest examples of US coinage to this day.  James B. Longacre was hired as Chief Engraver for the new coin, but found it to be quite a challenge.  Most of his difficulties lie in the high relief of the portrait on the head of the coin.  This beautiful coin portrays the lady Liberty facing left, head held high with an elegant and proud expression.  A coronet is upon her head and she is surrounded by 13 stars. The reverse of this coin is equally impressive.  A majestic eagle with outspread wings has a shield in front of its torso.  A circle of 13 stars is above its head.  After many failed attempts, Longacre resigned himself to the fact that the $20 Liberty head could not be mass produced.  The few $20 double eagles struck the first year were ordered to be melted down.
Interestingly, only two 1849 double eagles escaped being destroyed.  Of these survivors, one went to the Mint Cabinet in Philadelphia, while the other was given to W.M. Meredith, who was Secretary of the Treasury at the time.  The Mint Cabinet placed its coin on display in the Smithsonian Institution and the whereabouts of the second coin are yet unknown, making it one of the most desirable coins in the world.  The historical value for this amazing Choice Proof in 1960 was $100,000.  In 1980 it was valued at $1 million and today it is estimated to be worth around $10 million dollars. 

During its 58 years of mintage, the San Francisco mint registered the largest amount of coinage, which was very likely due to its close proximity to the supply of gold. Among the minor variations, the most visible changes were the addition of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST added in 1866 and in 1877 TWENTY D. was changed to TWENTY DOLLARS. Both of these modifications were seen on the reverse, or back, of the $20 Liberty.

Saint-Gaudens double eagle

The $20 Saint-Gaudens double eagle is known far and wide as the most beautiful and most artistically designed gold coin ever to be minted by the United States .  This exquisite piece has long been extremely popular amongst investors and coin collectors alike; it has even been worn as jewelry by some women!  The design came about through the collaborative efforts of President Theodore Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens (Dublin, Ireland, March 1, 1848 - Cornish, New Hampshire, August 3, 1907) grew up in New York City and completed his training in Europe before returning to design many of the famous statues we have today that honor the great American heroes of the Civil War. Among his most recognized accomplishments are the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common, the massive Standing Lincoln in Lincoln Park, Chicago, 1884 ? 1887, the equestrian tributes to Civil War generals John A. Logan, atop a tumulus in Chicago , 1894-97, and William Tecumseh Sherman, at the corner of New York 's Central Park , 1892-1903. 

Roosevelt desired to create US coinage as magnificent and stunning as the ancient Greek issues he so admired.  The President had one man in mind for this grand undertaking, commissioning one of the most celebrated sculptors of the day, Augustus Saint-Gaudens to design several new pieces. 

President Roosevelt desired the full figure of Liberty be featured on the obverse.  To meet this demand, Saint-Gaudens modeled her after the figure of a goddess he had sculpted earlier for the 1903 Sherman Victory monument.  Liberty is clothed in a flowing toga holding a palm branch in one hand and a torch in the other.  An airborne eagle graces the reverse, gliding over a rising sun.

Some of the variations of the series are the high relief showing the date in Roman numerals (MCMVII), which was abandoned shortly after, the no motto issue and the incorporation of the words "IN GOD WE TRUST" in 1908 through 1933. An extremely rare 1927-D $20 U.S. gold coin was purchased by a collector from North American Certified Trading for "in excess of $1.9 million" in 2006.