1907 $20 Extremely High Relief Lettered Edge PR(PCGS#9131)
1907 $20 Extremely High Relief Lettered Edge PR (PCGS#9131)
The June 2012 Baltimore Auction
- 拍卖行
- Stack's Bowers
- 批号
- 4438
- 等级
- PR69
- 价格
- 17,921,447
- 详细说明
- MCMVII (1907) Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle. Ultra High Relief. Lettered Edge. Proof-69 (PCGS). As struck and pristine, the surfaces of this amazing Ultra High Relief double eagle are free of so much as a single trivial blemish. Swirling die polish lines in the fields are characteristic of the manner in which these coins were produced, and radiant yellow gold surfaces are aglow with a stunning satin to modestly semi-reflective finish. Fully defined over even the most intricate elements of the design, and a remarkable coin to behold.<br /> <br /> <strong>An Appreciation of the Ultra High Relief Saint Gaudens Double Eagle, by Q. David Bowers<br /> </strong>The MCMVII (1907) Proof Ultra High Relief has been a landmark rarity ever since the day it was coined. Over a long period of years various scholars -- ranging from Edgar H. Adams in 1913 to Roger Burdette in recent times -- have studied and admired this coin, the predecessor to the regular circulation strikes minted in High Relief in December 1907 and from the same dies in January 1908 to the extent of 12,367 examples. While few collectors or museums have been fortunate enough to own an Ultra High Relief, as here, the regular High Relief issues, of slightly different design details, are readily collectible, though expensive due to the great demand for them. Time and again surveys among numismatists have rated this as America's most beautiful coin design. Indeed, in 1986 when the U.S. Mint commenced making American Eagle gold coins it could not improve on this 1907 motif by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and employed in for the obverse. In 2011 the Mint made reduced-diameter Proof copies of the motif.<br /> <br /> <strong>Theodore Roosevelt<br /> </strong>Of all American presidents Theodore ("Teddy") Roosevelt may have been the one who most enjoyed the world around him. As a young man he was in ill health much of the time, but outdoor activities and exercise helped him overcome his ill health, making him an advocate, a