1921 $20 (Regular Strike)

The Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle: From Creation to Revision

The Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle is one of the most famous American coin types, acclaimed as one of the most beautiful and artistic numismatic designs ever realized in the United States. Its existence came only at the insistence of President Theodore Roosevelt, who sought for years to beautify America’s "humdrum" coin designs.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s involvement in the process was meant to be more far-reaching than it turned out to be. The artist set out to redesign every denomination of America’s circulating coinage but fell seriously ill before this plan could come to fruition. In fact, what we have in the form of the Saint-Gaudens-designed $10 and $20 gold coins was made possible only through the work of Saint-Gaudens’s assistant, Henry Hering.

The United States Mint’s first strikes of this $20 design came in the form of two dozen proofs struck in March 1907; each coin required nine impressions to realize the full detail of Saint-Gaudens’s high-relief design. The Mint’s engraving department, led by Chief Engraver Charles Barber, was adamant that the high-relief models were impractical for striking circulating coins. Barber is often slandered in numismatic circles as entitled, difficult, and unprofessional toward his U.S. Mint peers and outside artists—but the truth is more nuanced. In the case of the Double Eagle design, he was, unfortunately, correct.

After several versions proved too difficult to strike, Barber modified the design, lowering the relief so the coin could be struck with only one blow. When the coins were finally released in 1907, they proved controversial as they lacked the national motto "In God We Trust," which President Roosevelt objected to on religious grounds. Even though the Coinage Act of 1890 did not include that motto among the mandatory legends (perhaps an unintended omission), Congress and the public nevertheless wanted it there. The motto was restored in 1908 by congressional action, which brought the Double Eagle back into compliance with the Act of March 3, 1865, the original mandate for the text.

Before President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ended circulating gold coinage in 1933, the Double Eagle underwent one more significant modification. In 1912, the number of stars encircling Liberty on the obverse was increased from 46 to 48, marking the addition of New Mexico and Arizona to the Union.

The 1921 Saint

The 1921 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (#9172) had a mintage of 528,500. While this total is not among the lowest of the series, specialists understand that the scarcity of late-date Double Eagles is more closely tied to survival rates. This is why the 1923 Saint (#9175), with a mintage of 566,000, is often considered a "type coin" or "generic," whereas the 1921 is a significant rarity.

The main reason for the 1921’s elusiveness can be traced to the Treasury Department’s decision to store a significant portion of the issue in its vaults rather than releasing it into circulation. Numismatic researcher Roger Burdette believes the Treasury held these coins as a reserve fund. When gold was recalled from circulation, the stock of 1921 Double Eagles was melted into ingots, which are now held at Fort Knox.

Auction prices for the 1921 Saint-Gaudens are primarily driven by condition. Because fewer than 150 survivors are known to exist, its value is largely unaffected by the prevailing price of gold bullion, despite containing nearly one troy ounce of gold. While most affluent collectors prefer Mint State (MS) examples in "Choice" or better condition, most known survivors grade between AU58 and MS62. Because "AU slider" coins and counterfeits can be deceptive, any purchase of a 1921 Double Eagle should be accompanied by authentication and grading from PCGS.

Price Performance Explained

The 1921 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle sells for between $55,000 and $80,000 in AU grades. This price increases significantly as one enters the low Mint State grades. The 10-year performance in AU grades has been somewhat stagnant; after surging from the early 2000s to 2010, prices flatlined. For example, Legend Rare Coin Auctions sold a PCGS AU55 example for $52,875 in February 2021, and Stack’s Bowers sold an NGC AU58 in August 2021 for $60,000. Both prices are lower than the $64,625 achieved by Heritage Auctions for a similar coin from the Douglas Martin Collection in 2014.

In Mint State grades of MS63 and above, the 1921 is extraordinarily rare. While significantly more expensive than lower grades, the market for "Choice" or better examples has softened. At least two examples in MS65 and MS66 sold for over $1 million in the mid-2000s, but when those same coins returned to the market in 2012, they sold for significantly less.

To what is this decline owed? It is certainly not due to an increase in supply. Instead, these sub-million-dollar results stem from a similarly timed exit of multiple competing buyers. The rare coin market is driven by supply and demand; when major collectors drop out, prices invariably fall. However, the takeaway is that just a few new competitors building high-end collections could elevate the finest 1921 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles back to seven-figure prices. With no new supply entering the market, such competition could manifest at any time.

Vintage Market Snippet

Collector Phillip H. Morse once owned not one, but three "condition census" 1921 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles.

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