Coins, Currency, and Medals

$100,000 U.S. Gold Certificate

The museum possesses one of the largest and most diverse numismatic collections in the world. Its diverse holdings represent every inhabited continent and span more than three millennia. The collection includes coins, paper money, medals, tokens, commodity and alternative currencies, coin dies, printing plates, scales and weights, financial documents and apparatuses, credit cards, and objects that reflect established and emerging digital monetary technologies worldwide.

Name: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

10 Dollars, United States, 1907

One (1) 10 dollar coinUnited States, 1907Obverse Image: Left-facing Liberty wearing a feather headdress, 13 stars along top edge of coin.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1907Reverse Image: Eagle with wings folded standing on top of a bundle of arrows and branch.Reverse Text: UNITED STATES
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar coin
United States, 1907
Obverse Image: Left-facing Liberty wearing a feather headdress, 13 stars along top edge of coin.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1907
Reverse Image: Eagle with wings folded standing on top of a bundle of arrows and branch.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / E PLURIBUS UNUM / TEN DOLLARS
Description
Augustus Saint-Gaudens's eagle never enjoyed the same acclaim as his double eagle, perhaps because much of the design was recycled. Near death at the time he was designing this coin, Saint-Gaudens reached back to his own familiar portfolio of work to produce the obverse profile and the reverse eagle. Years earlier, when working on the Sherman Victory monument in Central Park, New York City, he had created a model that had gone unused. Reused for this coin, Liberty's portrait was modified to include a feather headdress instead of the original olive branch. On the reverse of the coin, the eagle strongly resembles the bird Saint-Gaudens had designed for the Presidential inaugural medal for Theodore Roosevelt back in 1905. Even so, the new coin represented a major artistic advance. Nearly 250,000 were struck for circulation in the first year of production, 1907.
While it is commonly called an “Indian Head” eagle, the portrait on this coin is the goddess Liberty, wearing a plains-style feathered warbonnet. Designer Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ originally intended the goddess to wear a victory wreath, but President Theodore Roosevelt considered the warbonnet to be more American, and Saint-Gaudens acquiesced.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1907
mint
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
ID Number
NU.255927.1428
accession number
255927
catalog number
NU85753.01

20 Dollars, United States, 1907

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1907Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1907
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / MCMVII
Reverse Image: Eagle flying through rays of sun.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Description
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt asked sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to lead an effort to redesign American coinage. Saint-Gaudens developed a design that many consider the most beautiful American coin ever conceived. Work on the production version of the coin progressed through the winter and spring of 1907. Sadly, the artist himself now suffered from cancer, and would die of the disease at the beginning of August.
It was left to his assistant, Henry Hering, to finish the work his master had begun. And Hering would be dogged every step of the way by a jealous competitor, Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber.
Towards the end of December 1907, this new, very beautiful gold coin entered circulation. It was closely based on Saint-Gaudens's original concept, complete with the forward-striding Liberty and the eagle in flight. But Henry Hering had lowered the relief by a small but crucial extent. The coin still could not be struck, once, on a high-speed press. But it could be struck, thrice, on a slower-speed machine.
Under Hering's directions, and over Barber's objections, slightly more than twelve thousand "high relief" double eagles were minted in Philadelphia during the final weeks of 1907. Saint-Gaudens, Henry Hering, and Theodore Roosevelt had proved that a high-relief American coin could be made. Having won the battle, Roosevelt may have tired of the war. He had a good deal else on his mind, including upcoming elections, and the voyage of America's Great White Fleet around the world.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1907
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
ID Number
1979.1263.00803
catalog number
1979.1263.00803
accession number
1979.1263
catalog number
01553

20 Dollars, United States, 1913

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1913Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1913
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1913 / D
Reverse Image: Eagle flying through rays of sun.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Denver
ID Number
NU.255927.1715
catalog number
NU*255927.1715
accession number
255927

20 Dollars, United States, 1920

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1920Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1920
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / S / 1920
Reverse Image: Eagle flying with sun behind.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, San Francisco
ID Number
NU.68.159.0383
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.0383

20 Dollars, United States, 1931

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1931Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1931
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1931
Reverse Image: Eagle flying with sun behind.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1931
maker
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
ID Number
1985.0441.1599
catalog number
1985.0441.1599
accession number
1985.0441

10 Dollars, United States, 1930

One (1) 10 dollar coinUnited States, 1930Obverse Image: Left-facing Liberty wearing a feather headdress, 13 stars along top edge of coin.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1930Reverse Image: Eagle with wings folded standing on bundle of arrows and branch.Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERI
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar coin
United States, 1930
Obverse Image: Left-facing Liberty wearing a feather headdress, 13 stars along top edge of coin.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1930
Reverse Image: Eagle with wings folded standing on bundle of arrows and branch.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / E PLURIBUS UNUM / IN GOD WE TRUST / TEN DOLLARS / S
Description
Most of the run was melted. This is one of the finest survivors.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1930
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, San Francisco
ID Number
1985.0441.1588
accession number
1985.0441
catalog number
1985.0441.1588

20 Dollars, United States, 1915

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1915Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1915
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1915
Reverse Image: Eagle flying through rays of sun.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
maker
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
ID Number
NU.201556.0029
catalog number
NU*201556.0029
accession number
201556

10 Dollars, Pattern, United States, 1907

One (1) 10 dollar coin, patternUnited States, 1907Obverse Image: Left-facing Liberty wearing a feather headdress, 13 stars along top edge of coin.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1907Reverse Image: Eagle standing on a bundle of arrows and olive branch.Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERIC
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar coin, pattern
United States, 1907
Obverse Image: Left-facing Liberty wearing a feather headdress, 13 stars along top edge of coin.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1907
Reverse Image: Eagle standing on a bundle of arrows and olive branch.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / E PLURIBUS UNUM / TEN DOLLARS
General Information: Wire rim.
Description
Saint-Gaudens created three pattern ten dollar pieces, almost identical with each other. This variety (which may have been the first one created) featured very sharp "wire" rims. About five hundred were struck. That raises the question of whether the coin is to be considered a pattern or something minted for circulation, but in very limited quantities. [reference no. Judd 1774]
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1907
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
ID Number
NU.68.159.0323
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.0323

20 Dollars, United States, 1929

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1929Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1929
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1929
Reverse Image: Eagle flying with sun behind.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1929
maker
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
ID Number
1985.0441.1561
catalog number
1985.0441.1561
accession number
1985.0441

Joseph Francis Congressional Gold Medal, United States, 1890

The 19th-century American inventor Joseph Francis received many honors after his metallic life-car rescued 200 stranded passengers from the Ayrshire shipwreck in 1850 and subsequently saved thousands more just from wrecks off the New Jersey shore.
Description
The 19th-century American inventor Joseph Francis received many honors after his metallic life-car rescued 200 stranded passengers from the Ayrshire shipwreck in 1850 and subsequently saved thousands more just from wrecks off the New Jersey shore. He was knighted by kings, emperors, and czars, and received numerous valuable gifts from all over the world. Despite these accolades, decades passed before Francis’ own country recognized his accomplishments.
In 1859, a Captain Douglass Ottinger of the U.S Revenue Cutter Service had applied for a relief grant from Congress for unspecified, unverified and unsupported lifecar inventions. Joseph Francis was in Europe at the time and unaware of Ottinger’s claim. With no information to the contrary, Congress granted Ottinger $10,000 for inventing the lifecar. Francis returned from Europe in 1862, too late to address Ottinger’s claims.
In February 1886, a Congressional resolution for a gold medal for Francis was proposed, but Ottinger’s senator stonewalled the resolution on behalf of his constituent. This delayed debate long enough to prevent a presidential signature on the action. Later, Senator William M. Evarts of New York introduced legislation to award Francis with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by the legislative branch upon a particular person. The bill passed without opposition on August 27, 1888, signaling to the U.S. Mint that it should begin creating the medal.
Each Congressional Gold Medal is unique, crafted to specifically commemorate the honoree, and Francis’ was designed by Zeleima Bruff Jackson and modeled by the famous American sculptor Louis St. Gaudens. St. Gaudens is best known for his monumental statuary, which may be locally seen at Washington’s Union Station and the Library of Congress. He was also interested in the art of medals and coins.
Francis’s three-pound medal was forged in solid gold, and valued at $6,000 in 1889. When President Benjamin Harrison presented Joseph Francis with the award in the White House’s Blue Room, he spoke of the thousands of people rescued by Francis’ devotion to improving life-saving equipment. “Not many of these have been able to know or thank the man who saved them,” the President said in his address. “But the nation today voices the gratitude of these and many thousands more who will owe their deliverance to you.”
In 1890, Francis donated his medal to the Smithsonian, together with a diamond-encrusted snuff box from French emperor Napoleon III. Here, they joined his lifecar and associated lifesavings materials given earlier to the people of the United States.
date made
1890
original issue
1888
inventor of metallic life-car
Francis, Joseph
refused to sign declaration for medal
Cleveland, Grover
Introduced legislation to award Joseph Francis the medal.
Evarts, William M.
presenter
Harrison, Benjamin
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
obverse engraver
Saint-Gaudens, Louis
reverse engraver
Saint-Gaudens, Louis
editor
United States Congress, 51st
manufacturer
United States Mint
obverse designer
Jackson, Zeleima
reverse designer
Jackson, Zeleima
ID Number
NU.23240.0002
accession number
23240
catalog number
5694

10 Dollars, Pattern, United States, 1907

One (1) 10 dollar coinUnited States, 1907Obverse Image: Left-facing Liberty wearing a feather headdress, 13 stars along top edge of coin.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1907Reverse Image: Eagle with wings folded standing on top of a bundle of arrows and branch.Reverse Text: UNITED STATES
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar coin
United States, 1907
Obverse Image: Left-facing Liberty wearing a feather headdress, 13 stars along top edge of coin.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1907
Reverse Image: Eagle with wings folded standing on top of a bundle of arrows and branch.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / E PLURIBUS UNUM / TEN DOLLARS
Description
Charles Barber retouched Augustus Saint-Gaudens's designs after the latter died in mid-1907. Barber had the good sense to leave well enough alone--in the case of the ten dollar piece. What we have here is a relatively common coin (nearly a quarter-million were struck at the end of 1907), in a distinctly uncommon state of preservation. This coin has essentially remained untouched for nearly a century.
Against President Theodore Roosevelt's objections, the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added to the reverse in mid-1908. Thus amended, eagles with these designs were produced through early 1933.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1907
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
ID Number
NU.NU85754.02
accession number
255927
catalog number
NU85754.02

20 Dollars, United States, 1909

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1909Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1909
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1909
Reverse Image: Eagle flying through rays of sun.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1909
maker
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
ID Number
NU.68.159.1056
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1056

20 Dollars, United States, 1908

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1908Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1908
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1908
Reverse Image: Eagle flying through rays of sun.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1908
maker
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
ID Number
1985.0441.1284
catalog number
1985.0441.1284
accession number
1985.0441

20 Dollars, United States, 1913

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1913Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1913
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1913
Reverse Image: Eagle flying through rays of sun.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1913
maker
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
ID Number
1985.0441.1364
catalog number
1985.0441.1364
accession number
1985.0441

20 Dollars, High Relief Pattern, United States, 1907

One (1) 20 dollar coin, high reliefUnited States, 1907Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin, high relief
United States, 1907
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / MCMVII
Reverse Image: Eagle flying through rays of sun.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Description
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt asked sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to lead an effort to redesign American coinage. Saint-Gaudens developed a design that many consider the most beautiful American coin ever conceived. Work on the production version of the coin progressed through the winter and spring of 1907. Sadly, the artist himself now suffered from cancer, and would die of the disease at the beginning of August.
It was left to his assistant, Henry Hering, to finish the work his master had begun. And Hering would be dogged every step of the way by a jealous competitor, Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber.
Towards the end of December 1907, this new, very beautiful gold coin entered circulation. It was closely based on Saint-Gaudens's original concept, complete with the forward-striding Liberty and the eagle in flight. But Henry Hering had lowered the relief by a small but crucial extent. The coin still could not be struck, once, on a high-speed press. But it could be struck, thrice, on a slower-speed machine.
Under Hering's directions, and over Barber's objections, slightly more than twelve thousand "high relief" double eagles were minted in Philadelphia during the final weeks of 1907. Saint-Gaudens, Henry Hering, and Theodore Roosevelt had proved that a high-relief American coin could be made. Having won the battle, Roosevelt may have tired of the war. He had a good deal else on his mind, including upcoming elections, and the voyage of America's Great White Fleet around the world.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1907
obverse designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
ID Number
NU.43817
accession number
166178
catalog number
43817

10 Dollars, United States, 1933

One (1) 10 dollar coinUnited States, 1933Obverse Image: Left-facing Liberty wearing a feather headdress, 13 stars along top edge of coin.Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1933Reverse Image: Eagle with wings folded standing on bundle of arrows and branch.Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERI
Description (Brief)
One (1) 10 dollar coin
United States, 1933
Obverse Image: Left-facing Liberty wearing a feather headdress, 13 stars along top edge of coin.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1933
Reverse Image: Eagle with wings folded standing on bundle of arrows and branch.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / E PLURIBUS UNUM / IN GOD WE TRUST / TEN DOLLARS
General Information: A departure from older standards is found on the edge of the piece, where 48 raised stars are arranged signifying the states of the Union, instead of there being a lettered or reeded edge. A few dozen of these coins were released into circulation at the beginning of 1933. Only a handful remain today, the rest being melted.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1933
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
ID Number
NU.68.159.0334
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.0334

20 Dollars, United States, 1920

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1920Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1920
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1920
Reverse Image: Eagle flying with sun behind.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920
maker
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
ID Number
1985.0441.1463
catalog number
1985.0441.1463
accession number
1985.0441

20 Dollars, Pattern, United States, 1907

Someone once observed that a giraffe was a horse designed by a committee.
Description
Someone once observed that a giraffe was a horse designed by a committee. The same might be said of this coin: what had seemed a good idea around a table in the boardroom proved to be an interesting but spectacular flop as it neared production.
The coin resulted from a project that President Theodore Roosevelt began in 1905 to redesign American coinage. He commissioned sculptor August Saint-Gaudens to create the new designs, and Saint-Gaudens developed a plan for an ultra-high relief $20 coin. The coin here, which appears to have been struck early in 1907, followed Saint-Gaudens' basic designs, but there the similarities ended.
This experimental coin contained twenty dollars' worth of gold, but it was squeezed into a coin the width of a ten-dollar piece. The discrepancy was handled by making the patterns much thicker than ordinary coins. Staff at the Mint wondered whether it was possible to decrease the diameter to have the best of both worlds: a coin in glorious high relief that didn't take quite as many blows of the press to create. The experiment failed. Although the patterns were unacceptable for commerce, word of their existence leaked out to the collecting community. An exasperated Mint Director wanted them called in and melted down. Somehow two escaped. Both are in the Smithsonian Collection.
date made
1907
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
ID Number
1985.0441.2099
accession number
1985.0441
catalog number
1985.0441.2099

20 Dollars, United States, 1910

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1910Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1910
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1910 / S
Reverse Image: Eagle flying through rays of sun.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1910
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, San Francisco
ID Number
NU.68.159.1061
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1061

20 Dollars, United States, 1923

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1923Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1923
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1923 / D
Reverse Image: Eagle flying with sun behind.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923
maker
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Denver
ID Number
NU.255927.1813
catalog number
NU*255927.1813
accession number
255927

World's Columbian Exposition Commemorative Medal

This medal, designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Charles F. Barber, was made by the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut in 1892.
Description (Brief)
This medal, designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Charles F. Barber, was made by the Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut in 1892. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, and campaign medals.
Obverse: Image of Christopher Columbus landing in America. Legend: CHRISTOPHER COLVMBVS/ OCT XII MCCCCXCI/I AVGVSTVS SAINT GAVDENS FECIT.
Reverse: Two angels flank a globe, below are two lit torches around a plaque, and a ship on waves at the bottom. The plaque has a legend that reads: WORLDS COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION IN COMMEMORATION OF THE FOUR HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LANDING OF COLUMBUS/MDCCCXCII-MDCCCXCIII TO BINGHAMTON STATE HOSPITAL/ C. E. BARBER FECIT
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1892
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
Barber, Charles
ID Number
1981.0296.1591
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1591

20 Dollars, United States, 1909

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1909Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1909
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1909
Reverse Image: Eagle flying through rays of sun.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1909
maker
United States Mint
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
ID Number
NU.255927.1504
accession number
255927
catalog number
NU85834

20 Dollars, United States, 1908 (Matte Proof)

One (1) 20 dollar coin, matte proofUnited States, 1908Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin, matte proof
United States, 1908
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1908
Reverse Image: Eagle flying through rays of sun.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Description
In 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt asked sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to lead an effort to redesign American coinage. Saint-Gaudens developed a design that many consider the most beautiful American coin ever conceived. The Mint's Chief Engraver, Charles E. Barber, opposed the project, but ultimately developed a low-relief version of the Saint-Gaudens design that became the standard American $20 coin.
Barber was not averse to experimentation. He simply believed it had to be kept within fairly close bounds, and under the Mint's control. It would also help if there was profit involved. Instead of experimenting with relief, Barber tried modifying the finish of the Saint-Gaudens coin design. In one test, a "Roman Gold" finish was devised, imparting a glowing, golden surface to coins that would otherwise have a slight reddish sheen about them, from the copper added to the mixture to make the coins wear better.
No records of how this special finish was applied have survived; but a good guess would be that a light layer of pure gold dust was applied to both surfaces of the coin blank before striking. The force of the press would bond the dust to the blank as the blank was coined. In another test that yielded the coin shown here, Barber developed a "Matte" finish. In this case, the coin was likely struck first (more than once, in order to fully bring up what relief there was), and then "pickled," or etched in dilute acid.
The result was a coin of a vaguely medallic appearance, without all the work entailed in multiple striking. In addition to testing a concept, this experiment was directed at producing a few specialized coins that could be sold to collectors at inflated prices.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1908
mint
U.S. Mint, Philadelphia
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
ID Number
1985.0441.1285
catalog number
1985.0441.1285
accession number
1985.0441

20 Dollars, United States, 1909

One (1) 20 dollar coinUnited States, 1909Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left.
Description (Brief)
One (1) 20 dollar coin
United States, 1909
Obverse Image: Full-length Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and olive branch in left. Capitol Dome in lower left; rays of sun in background; stars around rim.
Obverse Text: LIBERTY / 1909 / D
Reverse Image: Eagle flying through rays of sun.
Reverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / TWENTY DOLLARS / IN GOD WE TRUST
Edge: E PLURIBUS UNUM divided by stars.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1909
designer
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
mint
U.S. Mint, Denver
ID Number
NU.68.159.1057
accession number
283645
catalog number
68.159.1057

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