Jan 14
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Spare Change Episode 7: Saint Gaudens Double Eagle Gold Coins

Coin TV Comments: 8

I just finished the seventh Spare Change episode and thought I would share some facts about the coin:

  • The double eagle is the U.S. denomination for $20(1 Eagle = 10 Dollars).
  • Although Augustus Saint Gaudens designed the art for the double eagles minted from 1907 to 1933, the coin itself was actually finished by Charles Barber after Saint Gaudens died.
  • Originally it was planned to have roman numerals (MCMVII instead of 1907) but Charles Barber knew that not all Americans knew Roman numerals so he changed it.
  • Teddy Roosevelt did not want the words "In God We Trust" on coins so the 1907 double eagle does not have the motto. However, an act of congress allowed the motto on the coin and except for some of the 1908 coins, the rest of the double eagles all have the motto on the reverse of the coin.
  • The St. Gaudens Double Eagle is 90% gold and 10% copper with a weight of 33.436 grams.

Want to see more gold coins? Here's a 9 minute video of a guy with American, Canadian, Australian, Austrian, British and South African gold coins. The video is on Youtube.
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written by Nicholas