1922 $20 St. Gaudens (1922 Saint Gaudens) PCGS MS65. Bright mint luster dances on the devices of this gem 1922 Saint Gaudens double eagle. The strike is above average on both sides with the reverse being especially strong. The surfaces are clean and free of marks or distractions, in keeping with the grade.

Because overseas bankers wanted to hold gold coins as a secure asset, from the time of its issue, large numbers of 1922 double eagles and later other dates were exported to Europe. In the 1990’s, the foreign bankers wanted to convert these holdings a more dynamic form of investment, the bull market of common stocks. Consequently, large amounts of 1922’s came on to the market. Most of these were graded AU to MS64.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ first commission was a statue of Admiral Farragut that is still in Madison Square Park in New York. By the 1890’s Saint-Gaudens had produced his statues of Diana and Abraham Lincoln, both considered some of his greatest works. He also created works such as the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common and the equestrian monument to Civil War general John A. Logan in Chicago. He became part of a group of new artists and architects and worked for an architectural firm for whom he produced a group of monuments and decorative sculpture. Throughout his career, he worked with architects creating works that were designed specifically for the sites they were building. At the entrance to New York’s Central Park is his bronze statue of General Sherman led by Victory. It took him eleven years to complete this project.