Lot 2731
1907 $20 St. Gaudens. High relief, Roman numerals, flat rim. PCGS graded MS-64. One of the most beautiful coin in the entire series of American coins. Here, Saint Gaudens' design is shown as it was meant to be, in full, high relief. And, had it not been for the exertions of President Theodore Roosevelt and his "go-to" guy, Mint Director Frank Leach, we might never have seen this coin. Everyone at the Mint was complaining about how difficult it was to make these coins -- from the extra pressures needed to strike them to the multiple strikes needed to bring up the relief detail. It seemed that more time was spent complaining about the coins than producing them. In his new position, Frank Leach was given an audience with the President, who indicated his extreme desire to see the coins produced on a timely basis. Leach took the indication as a command, placed the Mint on double shifts, and cranked out 11,250 of the High Relief coins -- enough to satisfy the President and take off some of the immediate pressure. In the meantime, dies with lower relief and Arabic numerals were produced, allowing for mass production to begin, but the final version lacks the majesty and grace of these magnificent coins. PCGS reports 93 in this grade, 50 in MS-65, 27 in MS-66, 2 in MS-67, and 1 in MS-68 (PCGS # 9136) .
Estimated Value $15,000 - 17,000.
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| Realized $24,150 |
