1907 $20 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle, High Relief Wire Edge PCGS XF40

In its circulated grade of XF40, this is a more affordable example of what is prohibitively expensive in Mint State grades. For example, a MS65 piece sold at a Heritage auction in July of 2022 for $50,400.00. David Akers writes, "Of the 11,250 High Reliefs minted, it is my estimate that 2/3 to 3/4 of this total were the Wire Rim variety since the Flat Rim is at least two to three times as rare as the Wire Rim." PCGS has graded 37 as XF40 with 4,282 finer.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the sculptor-medalist who crafted this iconic coin design.

Jeff Garrett writes,

The 1907 High Relief Double Eagle is one of the most popular coins ever struck by the United States Mint. The coins are sculptural in appearance and are considered by many to be the most beautiful regular issue gold coin ever produced. Unfortunately, the design was also impractical and redesigned by Charles Barber later in the year. The date is given in Roman numerals (the coin's nickname by some) and lacks the Motto, IN GOD WE TRUST. President Roosevelt believed that money could easily be used for ungodly pursuits such as gambling and thus the name of the Lord should not be used on coinage. The 1907 High Relief is categorized by most as either Wire Rim or Flat Rim. The coins are identical except for raised metal around the rims. This is probably the result of some tinkering by the Mint while they struggled to produce coins with such extreme relief.