History of the $20 United States gold coin, 1849â€"1933
The $20 gold coin shown here is the only known specimen of its kind and is among the rarest of U.S. coins. It owes its existence, in part, to the discovery of gold in California in 1848, of which the famous Sutter’s Mill discovery was but the beginning.
(Media-Newswire.com) - The $20 gold coin shown here is the only known specimen of its kind and is among the rarest of U.S. coins. It owes its existence, in part, to the discovery of gold in California in 1848, of which the famous Sutter’s Mill discovery was but the beginning. The California Gold Rush created a steady flow of gold, part of which reached the United States Mint in Philadelphia. Instead of striking gold in traditional $10 pieces, the Mint decided to issue larger denominations. In February 1849, Congress authorized the striking of $20 gold coins, which were created by Chief Engraver James Barton Longacre. This coin is one of two trial patterns struck on March 12, 1850, even though it bears the date 1849. The second pattern has never been found. This coin inaugurated the series of gold $20 coins nicknamed “double eagles,” which were issued from 1850 to 1907. The term “double eagle” is derived from the fact that the $10 coin is called an “eagle.”
A Masterpiece
These two coins, struck in 1933, were never issued to the public.The experimental high-relief $20 coin struck on December 22, 1907, was the work of two famous Americans: President Theodore Roosevelt and sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The president was a great admirer of ancient Greek coins and wanted to bring similar beauty to the U.S. coinage. He approached Saint-Gaudens to redesign the $10 and $20 coins. For the $20 coin, the sculptor chose an advancing figure of Liberty for the obverse and a flying eagle on the reverse. Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint Charles Barber resented the new design, partly because the high relief of the coin required a longer striking process; thus, only a few of the very high-relief pieces were struck in December 1907. Soon afterward, new dies with a much lower relief were created for this coin; it was issued for circulation from 1907 to 1933. The coin above shows the ultra-high relief; it was a gift from Saint-Gaudens to President Roosevelt. In 1967, this piece was donated to the National Numismatic Collection by Cornelius van Schaack Roosevelt, a nephew of the president.
The Last Eagles
These two $20 gold coins were set aside from the rest of the 455,500 double eagles struck in the spring of 1933 but never released for circulation. They are part of the National Numismatic Collection and are currently on display in the Money and Medals Hall on the third floor of the National Museum of American History in Washington.
The financial instability throughout the world following World War I encouraged many private citizens to hoard gold, ultimately also affecting the U.S. gold reserves. The problem was compounded in the 1930s by a general bank crisis that led, on March 6 to 9, 1933, to the closing of all banks. With his legislation titled the Emergency Bank Relief Act of March 9, 1933, and the Gold Reserve Act of January 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt succeeded in putting an end to these crises: banks were opened, but gold vanished. The legislation put an end to all circulation and private possession of U.S. gold; an exemption was granted for “gold coins having a recognized value to collectors of rare and unusual coins.” Late in 1934, the 1933 $20 coins were melted down, with the exception of the two coins pictured here and a small number of others, including the recently auctioned King Farouk specimen. These two coins were added to the National Numismatic Collection on October 9, 1934.
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