20 Dollars, High Relief Pattern, United States, 1907
date: label: Date made
content: 1907
name: label: obverse designer
content: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
label: mint
content: U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: One (1) 20 dollar coin, high relief
label: Description (Brief)
content: United States, 1907
label: Description (Brief)
content: Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Obverse Text: LIBERTY / MCMVII
label: Description (Brief)
content: Reverse Image: Eagle flying through rays of sun.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS
label: Description (Brief)
content: Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
label: Description
content: In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt asked sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to lead an effort to redesign American coinage. Saint-Gaudens developed a design that many consider the most beautiful American coin ever conceived. Work on the production version of the coin progressed through the winter and spring of 1907. Sadly, the artist himself now suffered from cancer, and would die of the disease at the beginning of August.
label: Description
content: It was left to his assistant, Henry Hering, to finish the work his master had begun. And Hering would be dogged every step of the way by a jealous competitor, Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber.
label: Description
content: Towards the end of December 1907, this new, very beautiful gold coin entered circulation. It was closely based on Saint-Gaudens's original concept, complete with the forward-striding Liberty and the eagle in flight. But Henry Hering had lowered the relief by a small but crucial extent. The coin still could not be struck, once, on a high-speed press. But it could be struck, thrice, on a slower-speed machine.
label: Description
content: Under Hering's directions, and over Barber's objections, slightly more than twelve thousand "high relief" double eagles were minted in Philadelphia during the final weeks of 1907. Saint-Gaudens, Henry Hering, and Theodore Roosevelt had proved that a high-relief American coin could be made. Having won the battle, Roosevelt may have tired of the war. He had a good deal else on his mind, including upcoming elections, and the voyage of America's Great White Fleet around the world.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place of issue
content: United States
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
label: See more items in
content: Coins
label: See more items in
content: Numismatics
label: See more items in
content: Coins, Currency and Medals
label: See more items in
content: Legendary Coins
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Zoomable Image and Details
label: Related Publication
content: Glossary of Coins and Currency Terms
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/coins/glossary.cfm
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Delano, F A
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: NU.43817
label: accession number
content: 166178
label: catalog number
content: 43817
objectType: label: Object Name
content: coin
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: gold (overall metal)
label: Physical Description
content: 0 (overall die axis)
label: Physical Description
content: 0 (overall die axis measurement)
label: Physical Description
content: struck (overall production method)
label: Measurements
content: overall: wt. 33.436 g