20 American dollars | Double Eagle

 

The American Double Eagle was first minted in 1849, in analogy to the beginning of the California gold rush. That year, the United States Mint minted two proof versions of the coin. One of those two coins has been kept at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. to date. The location of the second coin, which was originally owned by the Secretary of the Treasury at that time: William M. Meredith and was auctioned after his death as part of his heritage, remains unknown to this day.

 

Regular production of the American Double Eagle coins  ran from 1850 to 1933, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt stopped production of the coin and even banned possession of the coin, and gold in general (The Gold Reserve Act).

 

From 1849 to 1907 the 20 dollars - Liberty Head circulated. In 1904 President Theodore Roosevelt wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury at that time, Leslie M. Shaw: "I think the state of our coinage is artistically of atrocious hideousness. Would it be possible, without asking permission of Congress, to employ a man like Saint-Gaudens to give us a coinage which would have some beauty?". And so it happened; sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens would spend his last living years devoted to the American Double Eagle coins.

 

However, not everyone was as a fan of Saint-Gaudens’ artistic approach as President T. Roosevelt. The high relief of Saint-Gaudens’ first design of the double Eagle meant that the coin had to be minted no less than 11 times. No wonder only 20 of these coins were minted in total. In addition, Saint-Gaudens was criticized that the coins were not stackable and thus unsuitable for daily trading. After an initial adjustment, which meant that the coin had to be minted only 3 instead of 20 times, the design was still considered unsuitable and had to be modified a second and last time. That same year, Augustus Saint-Gaudens died of cancer. The American Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle would remain in production until 1933.

 

The American Double Eagle of 1933 is one of the rarest coins in the world. Although some 445.500 copies of the coin were minted that year, those coins never went into circulation. Even more, all but two coins were destroyed by the government. However, it later came to light that at least 20 coins had been stolen (probably by a United States Mint servant), and thus had not been melted. Coins that had, since then, fallen into the hands of private collectors through a jeweler from Philadelphia, Israel Switt.

 

Between 1944 and 1952, 19 of those coins were tracked down and seized by the United States Secret Service, who eventually destroyed 9 of them. The two coins originally saved - one of which is still owned by a private collector - are kept today as part of The U.S. National Numismatic Collection. The 10 other coins are kept in The United States Bullion Depository, also known as Fort Knox.

 

The American Double Eagle has a purity of 900/1.000 (21,6 carats) and a net weight of 30,09 grams. The other 3,35 grams consist of copper, which gives the coin its typical dark yellow color. In addition, the alloy also ensures the strength of the coin, necessary to withstand the wear due to regular circulation.

 

The American Double Eagle comes in two different designs, the Liberty Head and the Saint-Gaudens, which, in returnn come in three different versions.

 

On the obverse you can see the portrait of a woman in Greco-Roman style, looking to the left. On her head she wears a crown with ‘Liberty’. On her neck, at the bottom right, you will find the initials of the chief engraver of the United States Mint at that time; James B. Longacre. Surrounding the portrait are 13 stars, representing the original provinces of America (New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia). At the bottom of the coin you will find the year of issue.