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History of This Beautiful Coin

The $20 Saint-Gaudens is a near one ounce (.9675) gold piece. It is among the most stunning and attractive gold coins ever struck. The coin was named for its designer Augustus Saint-Gaudens. During Teddy Roosevelt’s term as President (1901-1909), he had grown tired of the look of the $20 Liberty, since it had been in circulation since 1850. Roosevelt, admired the design of older coins like that of Greece, and wanted America to have an impressive coin like the bygone ages. In 1905 he commissioned his friend and world renowned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to redesign the coinage and the first edition was released in 1907. The coin was originally minted without the motto (the words “In God We Trust”) because Roosevelt felt that it was sacrilegious. But in the end, the public disagreed and in 1908 the coin was again issued and until 1933 the $20 Saint Gaudens would be struck with motto “In God We Trust”, which can be seen in an arch around the sun at the bottom of the reverse side of the coin. This is the reason the $20 Saint Gaudens is often referred to as “with motto” or “no motto”.

The $20 Saint Gaudens is one of the two rare gold coins minted in the United States with a near (.9675) one ounce gold content. The other is the $20 Liberty and is also known as a Double Eagle. The $20 Saint Gaudens that were minted from 1907 to 1911 show 46 stars across the top of the reverse side, each star for a state of the union. In 1912 when New Mexico and Arizona became the newest states, the number of stars increased to 48 and was represented in the Double Eagles struck from 1912 – 1933.

Later, in 1933 Teddy’s cousin, and then president, Franklin Roosevelt would issue the executive order to confiscate gold. Owing to the fact that the gold $20 Saint Gaudens was not a “collector coin” when the order was given, Americans were required to turn in their gold Double Eagles and received the legal set price at that time of $20.67 an ounce. Straightaway following the citizens surrendering of their gold, the US Government raised the value of gold, setting the price at $35 an ounce. Today the $20 Saint Gaudens is indeed a “collector coin” and one of the most desirable coins in the world!

The $20 Saint Gaudens was struck in the United States at three separate mints, Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco. It was the last gold piece minted in the U.S. for everyday commerce and will always be a standard of what real money is!

It was Teddy Roosevelt’s own hand that chose the design called the “High Relief” Lady Liberty. The reverse of the coin displays the depiction of Lady Liberty walking towards the viewer, while the obverse portrays the side view of a flying American Eagle. Augustus Saint-Gaudens regrettably died of cancer on August 3, 1907 before his splendid gold coin was issued.

In November of 1907, the Philadelphia mint commenced striking High Relief $20Saint-Gaudens gold coins for general circulation. A total of 11,250 coins were minted which necessitated five strikes to create the desired design relief. Members of the banking industry were critical of the “High Relief” design stating that the coins couldn’t stack correctly because of their new design, which led to it’s alteration by Charles Barber into one of a more “flat relief.” The re-designed Saint Gaudens coins were struck with the dates 1907 & 1908. The $20 Saint-Gaudens gold coins were mainly minted in Philadelphia but were struck at the Denver & San Francisco mints also. The original High Relief version today is desired by collectors and investors alike and goes for thousands of dollars beyond the gold’s spot price.

If you are interested in owning one of the best gold coins ofour time give us a call or click here for a free gold information kit to learn more about the benefits of ownership.