| Coin | Weight (g) | Composition | Gold Melt Value | Full Melt Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $20 St. Gaudens Double Eagle (1907-1933) |
33.346 | 90% gold, 10% copper |
1924 Saint Gaudens $20 Double Eagle
The Saint Gaudens Double Eagle is named after the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens who designed it. Theodore Roosevelt asked the aging artist to design coins for the US mint based on the ancient Greek coins displayed in the Smithsonian Institute. Saint-Gaudens agreed for a fee of $5,000 and he started working at the mint in 1905. The twenty dollar gold coin and the ten dollar “Indian Head” gold eagle coin were the only coins that he completed before he died of cancer on August 3, 1907.
The Saint Gaudens Double Eagle was struck in 1907 to 1933 in 90% gold and 10% copper. These $20 dollar gold coins weigh 33.431 grams and will yield 0.96750 troy ounces of gold. They are 34.1 millimeter in diameter with a reeded edge.
St. Gaudens Close to Spot Price
 1922 SAINT GAUDENS DOUBLE EAGLE GOLD $20 UNC DETAILS NGC - OBV SPOT REMOVED $1,725.00 Time Remaining: 9h 44m Bid now |
 $20, Double Eagle, 1927, Saint-Gaudens $1,800.00 Time Remaining: 20h 15m Bid now |
 1927 Saint $20 St Gaudens Double Eagle NGC MS64 Gold Coin $1,691.00 (8 Bids) Time Remaining: 1d 6h 49m Bid now |
 1909-S PCGS MS-63 $20 SAINT GAUDENS $1,975.00 Time Remaining: 1d 8h 8m Bid now |
 1913-D PCGS MS-63 $20 SAINT GAUDENS $2,000.00 Time Remaining: 1d 8h 8m Bid now |
 1924 U.S. GOLD TWENTY DOLLAR SAINT GAUDENS DOUBLE EAGLE NO RESERVE NOT SCRAP $1,599.00 Time Remaining: 1d 9h 15m Bid now |
 1911 $20 PCGS AU55 - Saint Gaudens Gold Double Eagle - Lower Mintage date. $1,526.00 (11 Bids) Time Remaining: 1d 11h 10m Bid now |
 1923 $20 GOLD SAINT GAUDENS DOUBLE EAGLE NGC MS 62 $1,625.17 (6 Bids) Time Remaining: 1d 22h 15m Bid now |
 1908 $20 GOLD DOUBLE EAGLE SAINT GAUDENS 3 DAY AUCTION!!! $860.00 (6 Bids) Time Remaining: 2d 1h 33m Bid now |
There are three types for this coin. Type I: the “High Relief”, is only present in the 1907 coins. Since these were inspired by the extremely high relief ancient Greek coins, there was a lot of work put into trying to correct Saint-Gaudens’ first master “ultra high” die. It was taking eleven strikes per coin on the dozen “ultra high” trials to get the details to come across. The next die took four strikes per coin and about a dozen of these “extra high” trials were made. Another die was made and over 12,000 “high relief” were released into circulation. These did not stack very well and again the master die was reworked until the “normal relief” was achieved. Type II is the “No Motto” and Type III is the “With Motto”, the motto was added about half through the 1908 mintage.
1907 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle ultra high relief obverse
The entire obverse is encircled with very small stars at its edge except the lower right portion where there is a rock. Liberty’s left foot rests on this rock. She is standing and facing forward wearing a flowing gown. Liberty holds a torch high in her right hand and she extends an olive branch in her left hand towards the right edge of the coin. There are rays behind her coming from the lower portion of the coin. The date is over the rock towards the rim with a mint mark just above the date. “LIBERTY” encircles the very top of the coin just inside the small stars along the rim.
The reverse of the Saint Gaudens Double Eagle has a bald eagle in flight at its center. At the very bottom of the coin is a small partial crescent. Type III has the motto “IN.GOD.WE.TRUST” arching directly above it. Rays come up from this and continue under the eagle. “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” arches above, at the very top of the coin, along the rim with “TWENTY.DOLLARS” also arching directly under this and above the eagle.
Saint Gaudens Double Eagle high relief obverse
The last strikes of the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle marked the end of gold in circulating coins for the United States. The United States was still in the midst of the nation’s Great Depression and Theodore Roosevelt’s cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was just elected President.
1933 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle
FDR was inaugurated as President of the United States of America on March 6, 1933. FDR began his first term with great determination to get the banks up and running. He managed to get the “Emergency Bank Relief Act” passed on March 9, 1933. This granted him the authority to declare a prolonged national banking holiday and reorganize the banks. The reorganizing was laid out in the Act along with the authority to order the Treasury not to pay out any gold and that the banks were to move their gold to their regional Federal Reserve Bank.
In December the Acting Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Monenthau, then ordered all US citizens to surrender all of their gold to the Treasury as allowed under the Act. The “Gold Reserve Act” was passed in January of 1934 and made it illegal for private ownership of gold. Even the Federal Reserve was required to surrender all of its gold and gold certificates to the United States Department of the Treasury. The gold and gold certificates were exchanged for paper money. Only a few exempt from surrendering all their gold. These exemptions were made for significant numismatic gold coins included in approved numismatic collectors’ collections.
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 Double Eagle: The Epic Story of the World's Most Valuable Coin List Price: Sale Price: $1.89 You save: $24.06 (93%) Eligible for free shipping! |
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