Types Of Saint Gaudens Coins

Order Information

The types of Saint Gaudens coins are the last American Double Eagles and Eagles ever minted. Augustus Saint Gaudens was a famous American sculptor whom President Teddy Roosevelt asked at the beginning of the 20th century to redesign all American coins. Mr. Saint Gaudens was ill and only finished the Double Eagle and Eagle before he died. The Saint Gaudens $20 gold piece, the Double Eagle, minted from 1907 to 1933, is widely considered the most beautiful of all American coins.

Saint Gaudens Double Eagle

Ultra high relief

The original design for the new Double Eagle had a high relief. That is, the detail stood high above the coin’s surface. This coin comes in both «wire edge» and «flat edge» versions. The high relief caused problems, first at the mint. Because of the high relief feature, early 20th century presses needed to make multiple strikes. After a number of ultra high relief coins were produced and sent into circulation banks complained because the coins were not flat and did not stack properly! Before going to the low relief version 12,367 high relief coins were struck in 1907. In excellent states of preservation these coins are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Low relief version

In response to the complaints Saint Gaudens redesigned the coin in lower relief and this lower relief version was produced in 1907 and 1908. However, there was one more change in store for this coin.

Godless Eagle

The original Saint Gaudens Double Eagle design, and low relief versions, did not have the motto «IN GOD WE TRUST.» The president believed that the name of the deity should not be on coins but congress over road him and the coin was redesigned, again, in 1908 to include the motto. This type lasted and was minted every year until 1933, except during 1917 to 1919.

1933 and the end of American gold coin production

When the government confiscated gold coins and bullion in 1933 the Mint stopped production of all gold coins. Only one 1933 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle was ever legally released from the Mint. That coin sold for $7,500,000 in 2002.

Indian Head Eagle

The other coin designed by Augustus Saint Gaudens was the $10 gold piece, the Indian Eagle. This coin is not as famous, or infamous, as the Double Eagle but it has some of the same issues.

Wire edge, rolled edge, and another Godless coin

The original design had a narrow, wire, edge which was changed to a rolled edge design and the coin had not motto. As with the Double Eagle congress over road the president and the coin was redesigned in 1908 with IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse.

The Saint Gaudens Indian Head Eagle was minted from 1907 to 1916, 1920, 1926, and 1932-1933.

The Double Eagle is the more popular of the two coins and is usually what an investor is referring to when asking about «Saints.» For the investor in certified rare gold coins an important distinction is between collecting the rarest of these coins and investing in the subset of these coins that holds the most promise for appreciation in value.

Picking the right coin to invest in can make a big difference in profits. Take some time to read about the Saint Gaudens rare coin market and especially the investment grade coins in common years. Then call one of our rare gold coin experts at 1-800-300-0715. I could turn out to be one of your better decisions.