$20 Saint Gaudens

$20 Saint Gaudens

By Peter Costa
$20 Saint Gaudens were designed to depict the grandness of the United States of America. When President Theodore Roosevelt was doing a tour of the Smithsonian Institute in 1905, he was stunned by the display of ancient Greek coinage. He wanted to depict the greatness of his own country in a similar way. He though the American mint was not as beautiful as the Greek Coinage, it was more of an “artistically of atrocious hideousness.” This single tour of the Smithsonian Institute leads to the mintage of a new series of coins in United States.

According to the then President, Theodore Roosevelt, coins were not simple round bits of coin. To him they depicted the glory and the glory of the nation. His vision was to make these gold coins depict the superlative status of America. The inauguration medallion was created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Saint-Gaudens for a mere fee of $5000 produced a series of coins which were very similar to the Greek coins that had stunned the President.

The Double Eagle $20 Saint Gaudens gold piece designed by Saint-Gaudens is considered to be the most beautiful coin all over the world. On the obverse side, the coin has the picture of Liberty striding toward the viewer into the dawn of a new day. She holds a torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left hand. Also on the lower left side of her, the Capitol building is embossed. At the top, the word LIBERTY is engraved and surrounding the border are the 46 stars representing the states of the Union as of 1907. This depiction on the obverse side was adapted from the sculpture by Saint-Gaudens’ called Victory which is a part of Sherman Monument in New York City’s Central Park.

On the Reverse side of the coin an American eagle is seen in flight above than the rays of sun. Also the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TWENTY DOLLARS is found written arched at the top. Weighing approximately 35 grams, the coin is 96 % pure and has an alloy of Copper blended in it. 34 mm is the average diameter of a $20 Saint Gaudens.

BUY NOW: $20 Saint Gaudens

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