Heritage World Coin Auctions
Summer FUN Signature US Coin Sale 1257 6-7 & 9 Jul 2017
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High Relief Double Eagles
1907 $20 High Relief, Wire Rim MS64 PCGS. "Artistic idealism" was the term Augustus Saint-Gaudens used in his 1913 Reminiscences (published six years after his death by his son, Homer) to describe the figure of the male nude he originally intended for the reverse of the 1893 Columbian Exposition award medal. His design, revered today for its aesthetic sensibility, was then dismissed as immoral and inappropriate. This was not the last time Saint-Gaudens encountered resistance to one of his numismatic projects. His High Relief double eagle faced fierce objection from Chief Engraver Charles Barber, the same man he clashed with in 1893. Barber thought the relief of the master sculptor's twenty dollar gold piece too high for mass production. In this case, Barber was correct and only 12,367 High Relief twenties were struck late in 1907 before he lowered the design for circulation. This is a bright, satin-surfaced, yellow-gold example with no obvious contact marks on either side. An exceptionally well-preserved High Relief.
HID02901242017
1907 $20 High Relief, Wire Rim MS64 PCGS. "Artistic idealism" was the term Augustus Saint-Gaudens used in his 1913 Reminiscences (published six years after his death by his son, Homer) to describe the figure of the male nude he originally intended for the reverse of the 1893 Columbian Exposition award medal. His design, revered today for its aesthetic sensibility, was then dismissed as immoral and inappropriate. This was not the last time Saint-Gaudens encountered resistance to one of his numismatic projects. His High Relief double eagle faced fierce objection from Chief Engraver Charles Barber, the same man he clashed with in 1893. Barber thought the relief of the master sculptor's twenty dollar gold piece too high for mass production. In this case, Barber was correct and only 12,367 High Relief twenties were struck late in 1907 before he lowered the design for circulation. This is a bright, satin-surfaced, yellow-gold example with no obvious contact marks on either side. An exceptionally well-preserved High Relief.
HID02901242017