Years
Designer
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Composition
90% gold, 10% copper
Diameter
34 mm
Mass
33.44 g
Thickness
2.5 mm
Edge
Lettered E PLURIBUS UNUM
Mints
Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco
Metal
Gold
Design
Liberty striding forward with a torch and olive branch, the Capitol below, a field of stars. Reverse a flying eagle against the sun. 1907 ultra-high relief and high relief are medallic; the business coin is the Arabic-numerals low relief.
History
Roosevelt asked Saint-Gaudens for coins that would rival the ancient Greeks. The 1907 ultra-high relief proofs are more medal than mint product. High relief business strikes (Roman numerals) failed in production; the low-relief Arabic type ran 1907–33. No motto 1907–08, then IN GOD WE TRUST. 1920-S, 1921, 1927-D, 1930-S, 1931, 1932 are rarities because so many late dates were melted after Executive Order 6102. The 1933 is illegal to own with two legal exceptions (the Langbord coins and the Farouk/Sotheby’s specimen). The obverse lives on as the American Gold Eagle.
Key dates
Varieties
1907-P · 1907 high relief (Roman numerals)
design · key
1927-D · 1927-D
design · stopper
1933-P · 1933 double eagle
design · stopper
50 issues