Heritage World Coin Auctions
ANA Signature US Coin Sale 1258 2-6 Aug 2017
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High Relief Double Eagles
1907 $20 High Relief, Wire Rim MS64 PCGS. The striding figure of Liberty on the High Relief double eagle derives much of its fluidity and sense of motion from the treatment of the drapery lines of Liberty's robe. Homer Saint-Gaudens explained his father's technique and use of these lines on his various sculptures in The Reminiscences of Augustus Saint-Gaudens:
"Simple lines running up and down he believed had much to do with the sense of tallness or beauty, while cut-up objects invariably looked short. Meeting lines should always come together with an acute angle which suggested movement rather than with a right angle which checked the idea of motion. The radiation of lines he also regarded as one of the necessities for success in sculpture. ... he invariably commended [to his students] the repetition of a successful accent as in a fold of cloth, using it often himself."
The acute angles seen on the drapery of Liberty on the High Relief double eagle certainly give the viewer a sense of motion. In addition, when the radiated lines and folds of cloth are engraved in high relief, the combination renders a sculptural quality to the coin that is unparalleled in the history of U.S. numismatics. The flowing lines are fully apparent on this High Relief twenty. Every design detail is crisply defined on each side, and the bright yellow-gold surfaces show just the slightest touch of reddish patina over the high points.
HID02901242017
1907 $20 High Relief, Wire Rim MS64 PCGS. The striding figure of Liberty on the High Relief double eagle derives much of its fluidity and sense of motion from the treatment of the drapery lines of Liberty's robe. Homer Saint-Gaudens explained his father's technique and use of these lines on his various sculptures in The Reminiscences of Augustus Saint-Gaudens:
"Simple lines running up and down he believed had much to do with the sense of tallness or beauty, while cut-up objects invariably looked short. Meeting lines should always come together with an acute angle which suggested movement rather than with a right angle which checked the idea of motion. The radiation of lines he also regarded as one of the necessities for success in sculpture. ... he invariably commended [to his students] the repetition of a successful accent as in a fold of cloth, using it often himself."
The acute angles seen on the drapery of Liberty on the High Relief double eagle certainly give the viewer a sense of motion. In addition, when the radiated lines and folds of cloth are engraved in high relief, the combination renders a sculptural quality to the coin that is unparalleled in the history of U.S. numismatics. The flowing lines are fully apparent on this High Relief twenty. Every design detail is crisply defined on each side, and the bright yellow-gold surfaces show just the slightest touch of reddish patina over the high points.
HID02901242017