History and Design of the Double Eagle Gold Coin
For a beginning coin collector it can be difficult to know which coins are really worth working towards adding to your collection. However the Double Eagle Gold Coin is one of the rarest coins in circulation. This $20 piece is one that coin collectors from all around will strive to add to their stock.
The $20 gold coin would have never been developed had it been not for the great discovery of gold. In 1848, gold began to be mined in California, and that discovery led to the mass migration to the west that caused the Gold Rush. That gold rush led to gold being shipped through the country, and due to that, the United States Mint decided to up the amount of the coins that they were making at that time. Traditionally, the United States Mint crafted $10 coins, but now they were anxious to craft a $20 piece. The issue was moved quickly to congress for authorization, and in February of 1849, it was approved. The $20 gold piece was going into production.
James Barton Longacre, the chief engraver at the time, was the one who created the designs for the golden coins. Of the two patterns developed, only one has ever been found. It was first manufactured on March 12, 1850. These coins have come to be known as “double eagles.” This nickname developed because originally the $10 coins were referred to as “eagles” hence a $20 coin is double the amount of the original coins.
President Theodore Roosevelt also plays a role in the history of the $20 double eagle golden coin. President Roosevelt had a dream to pay homage to the beauty of coins from ancient Greece. To put his dream into reality he contacted Augustus Saint-Gaudens to put a new design onto the $20 gold coin. Saint-Gaudens decided to outfit the updated gold coins with a bald eagle on one side, and an image of the statue of liberty on the other. This coin was first manufactured in 1907 and remained in the system until 1933.
In 1933 there were 455, 500 double eagle coins made, but these coins were never released to the public. Instead, they were intended to be a donation to the National Museum of American History. These coins can still be seen in the “Money and Medals Hall.”
After the First World War, economic stability was simply not there. Due to the economic state of the day, individuals began to really hang on to any gold that they had in their possession. Ultimately, this had a negative effect on the United States gold reserves. Soon after a bank crisis hit America, and even though the President passed his “Emergency Bank Relief Act”, the plethora of gold had vanished. In 1934, many of the 1933 gold coins were melted down, and the beauty of the double eagle coins was lost except for a few that are currently on display in the National Museum of History.
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