$20 Saint Gaudens Pre-1933 Double Eagle Gold Bullion Coin

As far as coins go, this one is truly special. In addition to being a valuable coin, the $20 Saint Gaudens Pre-1933 Double Eagle Gold Bullion Coin has an intriguing back story. The legendary history of this coin begins when the nation’s 25th AND 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, affectionately known as T.R., got an idea to beautify a coin that would be minted and circulated in the US. At that time in history, coins from ancient Greece were being displayed at the Smithsonian museum in Washington DC. Roosevelt was absolutely enamored with the coins he saw at the museum. They were physically beautiful with tasteful references to history and iconic artwork. Roosevelt’s idea was to mimic some of the imagery from the ancient coins and apply them to a coin produced by the US’s mint. He truly felt as though the American coins lacked something and that revamping them would improve their sellability.  

So, in 1907, just two years before leaving office for the final time in 1909, Roosevelt decided to bring his idea to life. He hired a famous American sculptor, Augustus Saint Gaudens and showed him some of the ancient coins as reference. Saint Gaudens took the design into his own hands. The coin wound up being the last works of Saint Gaudens, as he died shortly after finishing the design. Now, the coin is known as Saint Gaudens final and most beautiful work. Historians and artisans believe that the Saint Gauden Double Eagle is the biggest masterpiece and the most beautiful coin in the history of minting coins. 

The coin became iconic for other reasons as well. The 1933 Double Eagle became the last coin of its kind. The coin was the last coin to be circulated AND minted in gold. This coin was composed of 90% gold and 10% copper alloy. It remained in circulation for a period of time and was then taken out of circulation.