Lot 3181
1907 $20 St. Gaudens. High relief, wire rim. NGC graded MS-64. A lovely brilliant untoned coin. While the High Relief $20 is an artistic marvel, it also presented a major difficulty for the mint to manufacture in sizable numbers. "High Reliefs were struck in 3 blows of the dies on a medal press in the Philadelphia Mint," says Stack's, in reference to a unique plain edge 1907 High Relief $20 gold piece the firm auctioned in January 2006. "The first two strikings were made utilizing a plain collar, presumably to prevent the raised edge lettering from being disfigured from successive strikings. It was only during the third striking that the plain collar was replaced by the lettered collar to produce a 'complete' High Relief Double Eagle with Lettered Edge. Due to the work-hardening of metal that results from the pressures of the striking process, the as yet ''incomplete'' coin was removed from the press after the first and second strikings to be annealed, or softened by heating."
A satiny coin with a vivid display of rich golden iridescence on both sides. Mathematically exact standards are seen in the sharp devices and to be expected given the trouble it took to make these (see above). Today, the MCMVII issues of 1907 are highly cherished by collectors and considered the pinnacle of coin design by American numismatics. When the Treasury Department proposed issuing new gold bullion coins in 1986, no finer design could be planned than to restore Augustus Saint-Gaudens' 80-year-old design. The mint even included the Roman numerals (PCGS # 9135) .
Estimated Value $22,000 - 23,000.
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| Realized $27,025 |
