Saint Gaudens Gold Coins, circulated from 1907 to 1933, are widely held to be the most beautiful gold coins ever produced by the United States Mint. In 1904, intensely dissatisfied with the “hideous” designs of the current Double Eagle coins, President Theodore Roosevelt contacted famed sculptor, Augustus Saint Gaudens with a request to “give us a coinage which would have some beauty.”

A numismatist himself, Saint Gaudens replied that he would be most eager to design a new, artistically beautiful coin. He and the President were of a like mind that the new coin should be modeled in the style of ancient Greek coins, with high relief and majestic detail.

Unfortunately the grand design envisioned by Saint Gaudens prevented him from living to see the completion of his design. The relief of the first Saint Gaudens gold coin design was so great that it was unable to be minted in one strike. It took many subsequent relief redesigns to enable the coins to be struck in one shot. Sadly, Saint Gaudens succumbed to cancer before the final relief redesign could be made; so he never saw the completion of his numismatic masterpiece.

The Man Behind the Coin

Augustus Saint Gaudens was born in Ireland to an Irish father and French mother. He was raised in New York, but later returned to Europe to continue his artistic training. Before his redesign of the Double Eagle gold coin, Saint Gaudens designed famous works such as the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common and the John A. Logan and William Tecumseh Civil War monuments.

The Beauty of the Saint Gaudens Gold Coins

While his initial vision of a super-high relief gold coin did not come to fruition, Saint Gaudens’ Double Eagle gold coins are still regarded as the most beautiful coins ever minted by United States, and boast the highest relief of any coin.

This obverse side of the Saint Gaudens gold coin features Lady Liberty standing triumphantly atop a mountain top, holding a torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left hand with the word LIBERTY above. She is backed by the rays of the sun and the U.S. Capitol is visible in the background.

The reverse side of the coin bears an eagle in flight backed by the sun’s rays with the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA above, and below that TWENTY DOLLARS. Also this side of the Saint Gaudens gold coin may or may not have the words IN GOD WE TRUST at the bottom. The absence or inclusion of these words does not change the value of the coin.

There is a reason the Saint Gaudens Gold coin is the most sought after coin minted by the U.S. The relief and sheer majesty of the coin’s design gives it a beauty that is unmatched by any U.S. coin.

Saint Gaudens Ten Dollar Gold Eagle

While his Double Eagle design is well-appreciated by collectors, his Ten Dollar Indian Head Eagle design is beloved as well.

Bearing in mind President Roosevelt’s appreciation for Greek coins, Saint Gauden designed a profile of the classical Nike, or Victory, with surrounded by an olive wreath. The obverse of this coin design replaced the olive wreath with the full feather headdress with the word LIBERTY inscribed on the band. The top border featured 13 stars representing the original colonies. The edge of the coin featured 46 raised stars rather than a reeded edge. These signified the number of states in the Union at the time. The date was placed at the base of the coin.

The reverse of the coin features a standing eagle with the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA along the top edge and TEN DOLLARS along the bottom edge. E PLURIBUS UNUM is in smaller text to the eagle’s right.

Augustus Saint Gaudens submitted his designs in January of 1907, and President Roosevelt ordered the gold coins into production by September 1 of that year, a month after Saint Gaudens death. Chief Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber, having workable dies for only the $10 eagles, and not the $20 double eagles and cent Roosevelt also had designed by Saint Gaudens, modified the high relief models from Saint Gaudens to begin production.

The absence of the phrase IN GOD WE TRUST from the coin at the insistence of President Roosevelt resulted in public and congressional furor. By an Act of Congress, all coins minted after July 1, 1908 bear the motto.

The ten dollar gold eagle remained in circulation from 1907 to 1933. The most sought after year is 1933. Though 312,500 were minted, only a few were released before President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the executive order that recalled gold coins in April, 1933. Only possibly 20 coins are known to exist. The 1933 eagle, remains the only collectible coin of the final date of circulating U.S. gold coinage.