Saint-Gaudens double eagle

The Saint-Gaudens double eagle is a United States twenty-dollar gold coin struck by the United States Mint between 1907 and 1933. Named after its designer, the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who created both the obverse and reverse, the coin originated from an effort initiated in 1904 by President Theodore Roosevelt to beautify the nation's coinage. Struck primarily for use in international trade, regular production of the type continued until gold coinage ceased in 1933.

Saint-Gaudens initially prepared the design in high relief, drawing inspiration from ancient Greek coins. Following his death in 1907, the high relief proved impractical for mass production, requiring up to eleven strikes per coin and causing banking difficulties due to uneven stacking. The Mint's chief engraver, Charles E. Barber, modified the dies to a lower relief so the pieces could be struck with a single blow. The earliest 1907 issues omitted the motto 'In God We Trust' and displayed the date in Roman numerals. Later in 1907 the date format changed to Arabic numerals, and the motto was reinstated by an act of Congress in 1908.

Standard regular-issue coins measure 34 mm in diameter and 2 mm in thickness, with a total weight of 1.0750 troy ounces (33.44 grams). They are struck from an alloy of 90 per cent gold and 10 per cent copper, containing 0.9675 troy ounces of pure gold. The obverse features a striding figure of Liberty. A rim border of 46 stars encircled the design until 1912, when two stars were added to bring the total to 48 following the admission of New Mexico and Arizona.