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FUN Signature US Coin Sale 1251 4-6 & 8-9 Jan 2017
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Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles
1932 $20 MS66 NGC. The 2017 Guide Book lists the reported mintage of 1932 Saint-Gaudens double eagles as 1,101,750 pieces, but recent research by Roger W. Burdette reveals a small discrepancy in that total. It seems 43 defective coins were reported as "good" by the coiner to balance accounts at the end of the fiscal year in June, 1932. By the end of the year, these defective pieces were destroyed for recoinage and replaced by 43 double eagles from the first delivery of coins in 1933. Thus, the actual number of 1932-dated double eagles was 1,101,707 pieces. Burdette indicates the 43 "replacement coins" (dated 1933) would probably be placed with the cashier as part of his funds, and might be the source of the famous 1933 double eagles that escaped destruction after the Gold Recall and have caused so much controversy over the years.
Of course, interesting as it is, this discrepancy had a negligible effect on the availability of the 1932 double eagle in today's market, as the vast majority of the coins were held in government vaults until after the Gold Recall of 1933, when they were melted and stored as gold bars at Fort Knox. No coins were released to Federal Reserve Banks for distribution and the maximum number of 1932 double eagles available to the general public was only 175 examples. Of these, Mint and Treasury records (which are more detailed for 1932 than for many other years) indicate 113 coins were purchased by known recipients. A few more may have been sold in anonymous over-the-counter exchanges with the cashiers, but the total number of 1932 double eagles that escaped destruction was somewhere between 113 and 175 pieces, if the records are accurate and none of the coins were actually dated 1933. Probably no more than 95 examples survive today.
The 1932 double eagle has always been known as a rare issue and enjoys a special status as the last collectible issue of the series. It is the second-rarest of the "Late Date" Saints, the final five collectible issues of the series (1929, 1930-S, 1931, 1931-D, and 1932), which are all notable rarities. The 1932 was a well-produced issue and the present coin is an exceptional Premium Gem representative, with sharply detailed design elements and vibrant mint luster throughout. The impeccably preserved orange-gold surfaces add to the incredible eye appeal and neither of the leading grading services has seen a numerically finer example. Census: 11 in 66 (2 in 66★), 0 finer (10/16).
Selections From The Dr. James C. Kirk Collection of Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles.
1932 $20 MS66 NGC. The 2017 Guide Book lists the reported mintage of 1932 Saint-Gaudens double eagles as 1,101,750 pieces, but recent research by Roger W. Burdette reveals a small discrepancy in that total. It seems 43 defective coins were reported as "good" by the coiner to balance accounts at the end of the fiscal year in June, 1932. By the end of the year, these defective pieces were destroyed for recoinage and replaced by 43 double eagles from the first delivery of coins in 1933. Thus, the actual number of 1932-dated double eagles was 1,101,707 pieces. Burdette indicates the 43 "replacement coins" (dated 1933) would probably be placed with the cashier as part of his funds, and might be the source of the famous 1933 double eagles that escaped destruction after the Gold Recall and have caused so much controversy over the years.
Of course, interesting as it is, this discrepancy had a negligible effect on the availability of the 1932 double eagle in today's market, as the vast majority of the coins were held in government vaults until after the Gold Recall of 1933, when they were melted and stored as gold bars at Fort Knox. No coins were released to Federal Reserve Banks for distribution and the maximum number of 1932 double eagles available to the general public was only 175 examples. Of these, Mint and Treasury records (which are more detailed for 1932 than for many other years) indicate 113 coins were purchased by known recipients. A few more may have been sold in anonymous over-the-counter exchanges with the cashiers, but the total number of 1932 double eagles that escaped destruction was somewhere between 113 and 175 pieces, if the records are accurate and none of the coins were actually dated 1933. Probably no more than 95 examples survive today.
The 1932 double eagle has always been known as a rare issue and enjoys a special status as the last collectible issue of the series. It is the second-rarest of the "Late Date" Saints, the final five collectible issues of the series (1929, 1930-S, 1931, 1931-D, and 1932), which are all notable rarities. The 1932 was a well-produced issue and the present coin is an exceptional Premium Gem representative, with sharply detailed design elements and vibrant mint luster throughout. The impeccably preserved orange-gold surfaces add to the incredible eye appeal and neither of the leading grading services has seen a numerically finer example. Census: 11 in 66 (2 in 66★), 0 finer (10/16).
Selections From The Dr. James C. Kirk Collection of Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles.