1909/8 $20 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle PCGS AU55

Here is a collectible and affordable example of the only overdate in the beautiful and popular Saint-Gaudens double eagle series (1907-1933). The mintage of this overdate was around 80,641, a small amount for a 20th century gold coin. PCGS has graded 269 as AU55, with 1,962 finer.

Close-up image of the 1909/8 overdate courtesy of the PCGS Coin Facts website.

Jeff Garrett writes, "This overdate was created when the Mint engraver used a 1908 and a 1909 hub to create at least one die. Some believe that only a single die was used to coin the overdate, which is possible considering that the population reports show a virtually equal number of overdate and regular date 1909 Double Eagles have been graded. This overdate was first discovered in 1910 and published by Edgar Adams in The Numismatist. Later it was popularized by Wayte Raymond in his Coin Collector's Journal in May 1943. This issue was once considered scarce until large amounts were found in European bank hoards."

Considering the above, the mintage of the 1909/8 was probably around 80,641, half the documented 1909 mintage of 161,282. Gold specialist David Akers writes, "Because it is an overdate and a very clear one at that, the 1909/8 is a very popular coin....This is the only overdate among the gold issues from 1907 to 1933. The dies were left over from the 1908 No Motto issues and so the 1909/8 has the same 'flat' look to the obverse that the other No Motto issues do. This issue is almost always well struck...and the typical 1909/8 has that 'soft' frosty appearance that is quite appealing. Color and lustre are usually very good and almost all specimens are a light to medium greenish gold, some with a slight orange or coppery tint."