1908 No Motto $20 Gold Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle NGC MS64 NO MOTTO SKU35689

The denomination was created as a means of using up an overage in gold supply due to the 1849 California Gold Rush. After more than a half-century in circulation, President Theodore Roosevelt was of the opinion that the designs of our gold coins had seen their useful life. He had been familiar with the work of master engraver and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens through an unofficial presidential inauguration medal he had Saint-Gaudens design, and asked if he could help bring our coins into a more artistically appealing era. Saint-Gaudens had experienced trouble in the past communicating with Mint officials, but agreed to the request on the promise by Roosevelt that mint officials would not get in the way.

Designing the new Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles. Saint-Gaudens worked on the designs based on the request by Roosevelt that they be distinctly American. He incorporated a Native-American theme in the designs at the President's request. The obverse design shows Lady Liberty stepping up onto a ledge bearing a torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left hand.

The reverse design shows an eagle in flight with the rising sun at the bottom of the design with sun rays pointing upward throughout the design behind the eagle. These designs were incorporated in high relief in 1907, but had to be changed a number of times because the initial run of coins could not be fully struck with one blow of the coining press, and the force used to mint the coins was too great for the dies to withstand an affordable number of coins struck per die. The relief of the design was lowered in subsequent runs to ensure these problems were solved. By 1908 the coins were in full production with the lower-relief designs.

Why are there "No Motto" Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle gold coins? When President Roosevelt originally spoke with Saint-Gaudens about the design of this series, he told Saint-Gaudens to leave "In God We Trust" out of the design of the coin. He felt it was not fitting to place such a statement on our coins. Saint-Gaudens complied and left the motto off of the coins. Shortly after the coins were released to the public, a roar of protest convinced Roosevelt that he had been wrong, so in mid-1908 he asked Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber to incorporate the motto into the design wherever Barber saw fit. These coins were too high denomination for most people to afford, and losing one of them would be devastating to a large majority of the population. Another of their chief purposes was to monetize the surplus stores of gold deposits for accounting purposes.

They were never really intended to be placed in the hands of common people in typical commerce. Most were instead transferred from place to place in bags with other coins. This made low-end uncirculated grades the most common among these coins, while the higher grade (mint state 63 and above) coins are highly sought after because they are far less common.

This grade is above the average grade for these coins and means that the coin is a GEM uncirculated coin with very minor scattered abrasions caused by storage, usually in bags with other coins. It is still a very attractive grade. We cannot make any price adjustments after the sale is complete. Product Photo Policy: MCM attempts to display product images shown on the site as accurately as possible.

We take all of our photos in house and due to reflections on the mirrored or proof surfaces of a coin there may appear to be'black' when there is not. If a coin has a color on it at all it will be described as'colorized' in the description or title. Due to the large inventory we sell, we use stock photos. Serial numbers will vary from the image shown unless specifically stated in the product listing that the item pictured is the item you will receive. INTERNATIONAL ORDERS POLICY: We are accepting international orders from select countries.

These charges are the customer's responsibility. However, we cannot guarantee this due to the volume of orders we process each day. Beyond the 30-day return period, Company is under no obligation to accept return of any product, but may in its discretion do so pursuant to this policy, for up to one year from the invoice date. ModernCoinMart (MCM) was launched in 2004 and quickly set the standards for online sales of bullion, US coins and world coins. Join over 100,000 loyal customers and feel confident purchasing from a company that's spent a decade building a solid and stellar reputation trusted and recognized around the world. That's the MCM way. This listing is currently undergoing maintenance, we apologise for any inconvenience caused. The item "1908 No Motto $20 Gold Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle NGC MS64 NO MOTTO SKU35689" is in sale since Wednesday, June 26, 2019. This item is in the category "Coins & Paper Money\Coins\ US\Gold (Pre-1933)\$20, Double Eagle". The seller is "mcm" and is located in Sarasota, Florida.

This item can be shipped worldwide.

Modified Item: No
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Certification: NGC
Strike Type: Business
Grade: MS 64
Year: 1908
Circulated/Uncirculated: Uncirculated
Composition: Gold
Fineness: .900
Precious Metal Content: 30.093 g
Estimated Mintage: 4,271,551