Saint-Gaudens’ Proof Double Eagles: Many consider the Augustus Saint-Gaudens 1907 high relief Roman Numerals double eagle to be the most beautiful United States coin ever made. Reminiscent of the coins of ancient Greece, these coins were designed by Saint-Gaudens at the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt, his friend. Roosevelt felt that the contemporary coinage was “atrociously hideous.” He had what he called his “pet crime.” Now that he was president, he could get rid of the ordinary look of the current coinage and fulfill his dream of having a national coinage that would be both beautiful and dignified. Saint-Gaudens, who created his 1905 Inauguration Medal, agreed. “Whatever I produce cannot be worse than the inanities now displayed on our coins.” Unfortunately, Saint-Gaudens was in failing health and never lived to see his new double eagles in circulation. He died on August 3, 1907.

It fell to Henry Hering, Saint-Gaudens’ student and assistant, to reduce the twelve inch high reliefs of Saint-Gaudens’ concept to coin size. Then President Roosevelt had to intervene to get the reluctant and jealous Charles Barber to complete the dies for the Ultrahigh Relief coin. In February, the first few proof, double thick coins were struck, each requiring seven blows to bring up the relief. The dies broke after three lettered-edge and one plain-edge coins were struck. After the relief was lowered, about two dozen proof pattern coins were struck. One is known without edge lettering, and one has the letters inverted. All of these early strikes are considered the Ultrahigh Relief double eagles.

Ultrahigh Relief coins have excessively concave fields and are double the normal thickness of the previously issued double eagle. There is no border and only a knife-rim edge. The capitol building is very small, and there are two folds in the skirt past Liberty’s right leg. The setting for the obverse was taken from Saint-Gaudens' Victory, a sculpture that is part of the Sherman Monument in New York City's Central Park.The coin depicts Liberty striding toward the viewer as if she is ready to step out of the coin. She is holding an olive branch in her left hand and a torch in her right, lighting the way to freedom as dawn rises over the capitol. She is wearing a loose, flowing gown that exposes her arms and her left knee and leg, and her long hair flows to the side. The Capitol building is shown at the lower left. Behind her are fourteen rays (reduced to thirteen in regular High Relief proofs) of the sunburst.

The date in Roman numerals is on the right, below the olive branch. LIBERTY is in an arc at the top border. Forty-six stars surround the edge of the coin, one for each state in the Union at the time. On the reverse, Saint-Gaudens placed a large, majestic eagle soaring to the left above the rising sun. Above the eagle in two arcs are the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the denomination. Saint-Gaudens had placed the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM on the coin’s edge thus reducing the clutter on the obverse and reverse and reinforcing their clean, open look. These coins were made like medals. They all have a satin finish and were intended for presentation purposes. They took many hours to complete because they had to be annealed between strikes to prevent cracking or shattering. Saint-Gaudens deliberately left off the motto IN GOD WE TRUST at the request of President Roosevelt, a religious man who felt that it was blasphemous to have God’s name inscribed on a coin. He did not wish the name of Lord on coins to be passed around brothels, saloons, gambling halls or used for other immoral purposes.

When President Roosevelt first saw the design, he knew that his friend had created a coin that would be admired by all. What he did not know, however, was that a quarter-century later, his cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, would confiscate all privately-owned gold, and most of these beautiful coins would be melted into gold bars.
The population reports show PCGS has certified eight Ultra High Relief coins and NGC has seven. Some of these many be duplications because of regrading and crossovers.

After Saint-Gaudens succumbed to stomach cancer, Hering attempted to reduce the relief of the coins and put them into production. At each step of the way, he was opposed by Charles Barber, who felt the coin was simply impractical. Once again, President Roosevelt intervened and 12,367 High Relief coins were struck. These coins received five blows each to bring up the relief; however, even the multiple blows failed to bring up all the details of the devices. Proof coins received six or seven blows from the dies. The fields on these coins are satin finish, similar to the early proof Lincoln cents. Details on these coins are much sharper than those on ordinary production coins. Barber claimed that only five were struck, but that was not true because he owned seven or more himself. Many had a raised knife rim or flange, known as a “wire edge.” The wire edge was around half or more of one or both sides of the coin because metal was squeezed between the collar and the die.

The population reports show PCGS with two certified proof high relief coins, and NGC shows 122 wire rims and four with flat rims. (Based on these numbers, it is clear that the two services have different criteria for determining proof coins of this type.)
Later in 1907, Arabic dated coins, known as the Barber-Saint-Gaudens’ Design, were released. These were made at the same time the MCMVII coins were being coined. Although the Red Book, A Guide Book of United States Coins by R.S. Yeoman, lists no proofs for the 1907 Arabic dated coins, four are listed in the NGC population reports. There are two types, large and small edge letters.
The double eagles of 1908 to 1933 had the motto IN GOD WE TRUST added. Obviously Congress disagreed with Roosevelt’s view of this matter. They and the general public felt that anyone who opposed God’s name on coin was probably an atheist, an anarchist or a Bolshevik. Congress ordered all coins large enough to accommodate it to have the motto added. An interesting parallel might be drawn to the Presidential dollars series that began in 2007. The motto had been included as part of the edge lettering. When a number of Washington and some Adams dollars were issued with plain edges, people complained that the coin was atheistic, and a law was passed mandating the motto be added to the coin’s surface. Beginning in 2009, the motto appears on the obverse of the coins in this series. The total proof mintage for the 1908 to 1933 double eagle series is 687 for all dates.

In 1908, 101 proof double eagles were minted. There were three types of finishes. The light matte finish is pale orange-yellow, similar to the finish on the eagle. The dark matte finish is between olive and khaki and is similar to lower denominations. The “Roman Gold” finish is a light yellow color with satiny or semi-brilliant surfaces. The 1908’s are very scarce because less than 100 sets were struck, and many of these were melted because of poor sales. NGC shows 80 in its population report and PCGS shows 36. (The higher combined total of the two grading services’ population reports shows that there have been a number of crack-outs and crossovers, which is true for all of the proof coins in this series.)

In 1909, 67 proof double eagles were minted. They are found with a satin or “Roman Gold” finish. They may also exist with a matte finish as well. NGC shows 30 in its population report and PCGS shows 18. No proofs are known for the 1909/8 overdate. In 1910, 167 proofs were minted. Most are found in the “Roman Gold” finish; although, a few have been reported in a matte finish. NGC shows 36 in its population report and PCGS shows 33.

In 1911, 100 proofs were minted. Most have a matte finish, similar to those of 1908. Others have been reported with a fine sandblast finish, which is similar to those of 1912 and darker than those of 1908. Evidently the mint was experimenting with proof finishes, trying to find surfaces that were not like uncirculated coins. They wanted proofs that were readily identifiable to collectors and clearly displayed the relief detail. NGC shows 47 in its population report and PCGS shows 22.

In 1912, 74 proof coins were minted. The obverse now showed 48 stars, one for New Mexico and one for Arizona, which continued through 1933. Most have a fine sandblast finish, which is different from all previous matte coins. NGC shows 55 in its population report and PCGS shows 22. (The higher combined total of the two grading services’ population reports shows that there have been a number of crack-outs and crossovers, which is true for all of the proof coins in this series.)

In 1913, 58 proof double eagles were minted. The same finish as 1912 was used. NGC shows 50 in its population report and PCGS shows 21. In 1914, 70 proof coins were minted. A coarse sandblast finish was used. They are darker than those of 1913. NGC shows 28 in its population report and PCGS shows 18. In 1915, the last year of proof double eagles, 50 coins were minted. A coarse sandblast finish was used. They are darker than those of 1913. NGC shows 40 in its population report and PCGS shows 14. (The higher combined total of the two grading services’ population reports shows that there have been a number of crack-outs and crossovers, which is true for all of the proof coins in this series.)

Specifications:
Edge: Lettered with 'E Pluribus Unum' and stars
Weight: 33.436 grams (516 grains) (1.075 troy ounces)
Diameter: 34 millimeters
Composition: 90% gold, 10% copper
Gold Content: 30.093 grams (464.4 grains) (0.9675 troy ounces)