Lot 2825
1932 $20 St. Gaudens. NGC graded MS-65. A lovely example of the very rare date. A tiny mark in the left obverse field. A date missing in most collections. In terms of condition rarity, the 1920-S and 1921 are identified as the two most important condition rarities in the Saint-Gaudens double eagle series. However, the 1932 is far more elusive from the perspective of total number of examples known, with only as few as 70 pieces believed extant in various grades. The 1932 tends to be carefully preserved with a much higher proportion of Gems known versus the total census than the other late-date keys of the series. This is a gorgeous, fully frosted Gem that reveals brilliant yellow-gold surfaces blending to peach-orange plus a faint overlay of reddish patina. The only marks of distinction are a couple on Liberty's left blouse (from the viewer's angle), with a few other marks, equally insignificant, on the eagle's tail. Pop 10; 5 in 66.
Rumblings of a worldwide monetary crisis were first felt in 1928-29 as stock markets began to plunge. But the real panic began in the summer of 1931 when first Austria, then Germany, followed by Great Britain "defaulted" on their creditors by "going off the gold standard." This international bankruptcy left American institutions to face the rising onslaught alone. In 1932, immediately following the Presidential election in November, a flood of bank withdrawals of gold hit the Treasury department as well as the Federal Reserve banks. Few knew it at the time, but America's descent into the abyss of national bankruptcy was only weeks away. This 1932 twenty is one of the last permissible dates in the series to own (the 1933 twenties are all subject to confiscation, with the sole exception of a single coin in collector's hands).
Estimated Value $90,000 - 110,000.
Ex Dr. Hesselgesser.
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| Realized $115,000 |
