Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-29
CALLS IT PET CRIME
President RooseveIt's Advo-
cacy of High Relief Coins.
WHAT HE TOLD SCULPTOR
Saint Gauden's Son Gives History Of
New Gold Money.
TROUBLES WITH THE MINT
Executive, Enthusiastic Over Old
Greek Coinage, Decides to- Modern
ize It for American Use.
WHAT HE TOLD SCULPTOR
TROUBLES WITH THE MINT

The new gold coins about which there
stitute President Roosevelt's pet crime. y
At least, that is the way the President
himself described it to the late Augustus
Saint Gaudens. according to Homer Saint
Gaudens. the famous sculptor's son, who
tells the story in the Century MagaZ.n
for March.
The contribution, which is entitled ''The
Later Works of Augustus Saint Gaudens.
Is very interesting, particularly that por-
ton which deals with the new coins and
the story of how Saint Gaudens came to
design them.
The plan for the United States coins
the cent. the eagle and the double eagle
writes the Sculptor's SON. Originated
about this time at dinner that my father
took with the President in the winter of
1905. There they both grew enthusiastic
over the old high relief Greek coins. until
the President declared that he would have
the mint stamp modern version of such
coins in spite of itself. if my father would
design them. He added
my Pet Crime"
You know. Saint Gaudens, this is my
pet crime -
Young Saint Gaudens tells of the great
amount of work done by his father in
modelling the various features of the coin
and tells of trouble with the mint author
tiles.
to reach a satisfactory understanding with
the mint authorities. First the officials
of the Philadelphia mint. as might have
been expected, complained that they found
the relief overnight, and that my father
must lower it and sharpen the detail s.
knowing well that modification would
hurt the merit of the result my father
agreed, only to meet with three more COM
plants OF the same nature. Accordingly
he bought two French coins and inquired
OF the mint if they could strike what was
struck abroad The mint replied Yes So
he ascertained the relief of the French
coins, and much to his regret brought
down his own models to a shade under
that.
Then shortly after his death the mint
began issuing the eagles with extremely
poor results. My fathers assistant who
mad personally carried ON the alterations,
asked why no heed had been paid to his
request to see the die before the striking
The mint replied at random that 1t was
forced. even under the present circum-
stances, again to reduce on its own ac-
count the proportional depths of the re-
lief and that in the process details were
lost.
Retracted Their Statements.
MY latner S assistant promptly eXlllb-
tied three grades of relief reduced abroad
to the same extent from the same orig
inal by the same machine that the mint
employed. The details stood out quite as
wildly in the low relief as in the high.
Thereat certain of the officials changed
the subject, and in regard to the double
eagle rctracted their assertions about ac-
complishing in this line what was a mat
ter Of course in Europe because the dou-
BILE eagle showed a great proportional area
of plane surface. because In the differ
ence in metal. and because of the size of
the coin.
''At last, however. Mr.. Frank A. Leach.
the new director Of the mint, took hand
in the turmoil and brought the matter
before the President. with the consequence
that the mint accomplished the formerly
impossible and struck the double eagles.
Therefore. though the designs remain as
my father planned them. what with the
lowered relief and most careless reproduc-
ton. especially of the profile head, after
my fathers death. the results appear far
from those no would have allowed had he
been able to assert himself