1907 $20 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle, High Relief Wire Edge NGC MS63

Simply stunning. Those two words sum up the essence of this coin. From the collaboration of Theodore Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens, which began with an animated conversation in the White House, sprouted the iconic designs on both sides of this beauty. Without a doubt, this is numismatic art at its finest. NGC has graded 757 as MS63, with 1,591 finer.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the sculptor-medalist who crafted this iconic coin design. Photo: Smithsonian Institution American Art Museum. 

Jeff Garrett writes,

The 1907 High Relief Double Eagle is one of the most popular coins ever struck by the United States Mint. The coins are sculptural in appearance and are considered by many to be the most beautiful regular issue gold coin ever produced. Unfortunately, the design was also impractical and redesigned by Charles Barber later in the year. The date is given in Roman numerals (the coins nickname by some) and lacks the Motto, IN GOD WE TRUST. President Roosevelt believed that money could easily be used for ungodly pursuits such as gambling and thus the name of the Lord should not be used on coinage. The 1907 High Relief is categorized by most as either Wire Rim or Flat Rim. The coins are identical except for raised metal around the rims. This is probably the result of some tinkering by the Mint while they struggled to produce coins with such extreme relief.