The Saint-Gaudens double eagle is a twenty-dollar coin, or double eagle, produced by the United States Mint from 1907 to 1933. The gold coin is named after Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who designed the obverse and reverse. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt sought to beautify American coinage, and proposed Saint-Gaudens as an artist capable of the task. Although he had poor experiences with the Mint and its chief engraver, Charles E. Barber, Saint-Gaudens accepted Roosevelt's call. The work was subject to considerable delays, due to technical difficulties as well as Saint-Gaudens's declining health. Saint-Gaudens died in 1907, after designing the eagle and the double eagle, but before the designs were finalized for production. After several versions of the design for the double eagle proved too difficult to strike, Barber modified Saint-Gaudens's design, lowering the relief so that the coin could be struck with only one blow. When the coins were finally released, they proved controversial as they lacked the words "In God We Trust", and Congress intervened to require the motto's inclusion. The coin was minted, primarily for use in international trade, until 1933. The 1933 double eagle is among the most valuable of U.S. coins, with the sole example presently known to be in private hands selling in 2021 for $18.9million. This photograph shows the obverse (left) and reverse (right) of the high-relief version of the 1907 Saint-Gaudens double eagle.Coin design credit: United States Mint; photographed by Heritage AuctionsRecently featured: The ColonelLittle corellaCharles Roscoe SavageArchiveMore featured pictures