Options
The Saint-Gaudens Cent (an almost coin)
WingedLiberty1957
Posts: 2,961 ✭✭✭✭✭
The Saint-Gaudens Cent (an almost coin)
Some of you might be surprised to learn that the United States ALMOST had a Saint-Gaudens Cent, that probably would have been minted beginning around 1907 or 1908 and continued for most of the 20th century.
Theodore Roosevelt, who served as President from 1901 to 1909, was the only U.S President known to have taken a deep interest in U.S coinage designs.
In 1905, President Roosevelt viewed a number of high-relief coins of Ancient Greece on display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. Admiring the ancient coins sculptured relief and artistry, he felt the U.S. coins in production at the time were derivative and uninspired in comparison.
Roosevelt then challenged his new friend and renowned artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens to redesign the entire line of American coinage from the Cent to the Double Eagle to new and more artistic standards.
However, under the terms of an 1890 law that governed coinage designs of the United States, coin designs had to be in place for at least 25 years before changes could be made without the approval of congress. As a result, the coins that were legal to change in 1905 without congressional approval included the one cent piece and the four gold coins only. Roosevelt empowered Augustus Saint-Gaudens to undertake this task and granted him "complete artistic freedom within the limit of coinage law."
Unfortunately Saint-Gaudens, who was 56 at the time, was in failing health and only had time to complete the redesign of the $10 and $20 Gold coins -- and was only able to make sketches and plaster models for a redesigned one cent coin -- before he died in 1907 at the age of 58.
So if Saint-Gaudens' One Cent sketches and models had made it to fruition, we may have had a small cent of this approximate design for a good portion of the 20th Century.
More on the two completed Gold Coin designs
While the resulting Saint-Gaudens $20 Gold design is one of the most beautiful and renowned in history, an early plaster sketch sculpted by the artist shows two dramatically different elements. This "lost" Winged Liberty design, a precursor to the finished version, shows Miss Liberty as she would ultimately appear on the new coin, except that she was portrayed with 1.) large, billowing wings and 2.) a feathered headdress. Until recently this plaster sketch was lost within Saint-Gaudens's studio archives and few were aware of its existence. Finally, it was re-discovered when his New Hampshire studio was made a National Historic Site (link) & opened to the public. While this beautiful design was never actually struck as a U.S. coin, the original plaster sketch was authenticated by the National Guaranty Corporation (NGC).
God or No God?
At President Roosevelt's insistence, the motto "IN GOD WE TRUST" was omitted from the designs of the new $10 and $20 gold pieces. This phrase had appeared on the Liberty Head gold coins for over half a century. Roosevelt was not an atheist, but he firmly believed the coinage of the United States was an improper place for a religious motto.
The phrase, "IN GOD WE TRUST" first appeared on the two-cent pieces beginning in 1864 but it was not mandated. In fact, the Coinage Act of 1873 stated that this motto be inscribed on coins "as space and design permitted". At President Roosevelt's insistence, when the new eagle and double eagle coins appeared in 1907, the motto had been omitted. However, following a "public outcry", Congress ordered it restored on the gold pieces and the Act of May 18, 1908 made it mandatory on all coins "upon which it had heretofore appeared".
Everybody is a Critic
No American coin design has escaped criticism and the $10 Gold Eagle of Saint-Gaudens was no exception. The Caucasian features on the Indian was criticized and those interested in the authentic representation of the American Indian quickly pointed out that no American Indian woman ever wore a war bonnet. The eagle on the reverse also came under criticism. The leg feathers, ornithologists claimed, were those of a Golden Eagle, not the American Bald Eagle, our national bird.
Saint-Gaudens' impact on popular and acclaimed Coin Designs of the 20th Century
Saint-Gaudens was a master of the portrait relief. His work in bas-relief (low relief) is unsurpassed to this day and compares with the finest work of the 15th Century Masters in Europe.
Saint-Gaudens was a tireless teacher from 1888 to 1897. An entire new generation of sculptors studied under Saint-Gaudens or became his assistants. It is to his credit that the designers of the Buffalo Nickel, Mercury Dime, Standing Liberty and Washington Quarter, Walking Liberty Half Dollar and $2.50 and $5 Gold Indians were students and/or assistants of Saint-Gaudens.
Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens
It should be no surprise that these two immensely talented men (Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens) would become friends and collaborators. Saint-Gaudens would first become involved with Roosevelt on an artistic level when asked to produce an inaugural medallion for the President's first full term. On January 18, 1905 at the White House, Saint-Gaudens capitulated to Roosevelt's forceful plea to create an inauguration medal that would be "worthy of the event". It was at this meeting that Roosevelt and Secretary of the Treasury Shaw asked Saint-Gaudens to consider new designs for United States coins. The medal that resulted from this January day was of supreme artistic merit. Especially notable was the impressive reverse of the medal that featured a heroic eagle on a cliff. This had been a device that U.S coin designer Charles E. Barber rejected back in 1892! Roosevelt said it best in a letter to his friend: "Thank heaven we have at last some artistic work of permanent worth, done for the government." The reverse eagle design on this inaugural medal was later adopted for use on the $2.5, $5, and $10 Gold Pieces.
Summary
We as coin collectors really owe a lot to this great designer of the 19th and early 20th Century. And certainly it would have been interesting if there had been a Saint-Gaudens Cent. I wonder how many more collectors might have gotten hooked by this potentially beautiful copper coin, which I think some might say (looking that the plaster model) could have had more artistic merit than the more pedestrian (but still quite popular) Lincoln Cent that followed in 1909.
I also have to say that I had no idea (until I researched this) of Saint-Gaudens' impact on some of the most artistically renowned coin designs of the 20th Century. That all of those "collector favorite" coin designs posted above were designed by students of Saint-Gaudens!! You can certainly see the impact of their teacher in the artistry. And, who knows, there might be many fewer coin collectors today if not for these premier artistic coin designs (seemingly some of the most cherished and loved types) that inspired millions, and came into being due to the influence (direct or indirect) of this great man and artist.
Disclaimer
Please note that I did discovery on this by doing web searches, so please excuse any mistakes in facts, I did the best I could based on what i could find!!! Sometimes information on the web is in conflict, so I attempted to piece things together to the best of my ability. I am sure there are true experts on this subject out there. Clearly not me!
Some of you might be surprised to learn that the United States ALMOST had a Saint-Gaudens Cent, that probably would have been minted beginning around 1907 or 1908 and continued for most of the 20th century.
Theodore Roosevelt, who served as President from 1901 to 1909, was the only U.S President known to have taken a deep interest in U.S coinage designs.
In 1905, President Roosevelt viewed a number of high-relief coins of Ancient Greece on display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. Admiring the ancient coins sculptured relief and artistry, he felt the U.S. coins in production at the time were derivative and uninspired in comparison.
Roosevelt then challenged his new friend and renowned artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens to redesign the entire line of American coinage from the Cent to the Double Eagle to new and more artistic standards.
However, under the terms of an 1890 law that governed coinage designs of the United States, coin designs had to be in place for at least 25 years before changes could be made without the approval of congress. As a result, the coins that were legal to change in 1905 without congressional approval included the one cent piece and the four gold coins only. Roosevelt empowered Augustus Saint-Gaudens to undertake this task and granted him "complete artistic freedom within the limit of coinage law."
Unfortunately Saint-Gaudens, who was 56 at the time, was in failing health and only had time to complete the redesign of the $10 and $20 Gold coins -- and was only able to make sketches and plaster models for a redesigned one cent coin -- before he died in 1907 at the age of 58.
So if Saint-Gaudens' One Cent sketches and models had made it to fruition, we may have had a small cent of this approximate design for a good portion of the 20th Century.
More on the two completed Gold Coin designs
While the resulting Saint-Gaudens $20 Gold design is one of the most beautiful and renowned in history, an early plaster sketch sculpted by the artist shows two dramatically different elements. This "lost" Winged Liberty design, a precursor to the finished version, shows Miss Liberty as she would ultimately appear on the new coin, except that she was portrayed with 1.) large, billowing wings and 2.) a feathered headdress. Until recently this plaster sketch was lost within Saint-Gaudens's studio archives and few were aware of its existence. Finally, it was re-discovered when his New Hampshire studio was made a National Historic Site (link) & opened to the public. While this beautiful design was never actually struck as a U.S. coin, the original plaster sketch was authenticated by the National Guaranty Corporation (NGC).
God or No God?
At President Roosevelt's insistence, the motto "IN GOD WE TRUST" was omitted from the designs of the new $10 and $20 gold pieces. This phrase had appeared on the Liberty Head gold coins for over half a century. Roosevelt was not an atheist, but he firmly believed the coinage of the United States was an improper place for a religious motto.
The phrase, "IN GOD WE TRUST" first appeared on the two-cent pieces beginning in 1864 but it was not mandated. In fact, the Coinage Act of 1873 stated that this motto be inscribed on coins "as space and design permitted". At President Roosevelt's insistence, when the new eagle and double eagle coins appeared in 1907, the motto had been omitted. However, following a "public outcry", Congress ordered it restored on the gold pieces and the Act of May 18, 1908 made it mandatory on all coins "upon which it had heretofore appeared".
Everybody is a Critic
No American coin design has escaped criticism and the $10 Gold Eagle of Saint-Gaudens was no exception. The Caucasian features on the Indian was criticized and those interested in the authentic representation of the American Indian quickly pointed out that no American Indian woman ever wore a war bonnet. The eagle on the reverse also came under criticism. The leg feathers, ornithologists claimed, were those of a Golden Eagle, not the American Bald Eagle, our national bird.
Saint-Gaudens' impact on popular and acclaimed Coin Designs of the 20th Century
Saint-Gaudens was a master of the portrait relief. His work in bas-relief (low relief) is unsurpassed to this day and compares with the finest work of the 15th Century Masters in Europe.
Saint-Gaudens was a tireless teacher from 1888 to 1897. An entire new generation of sculptors studied under Saint-Gaudens or became his assistants. It is to his credit that the designers of the Buffalo Nickel, Mercury Dime, Standing Liberty and Washington Quarter, Walking Liberty Half Dollar and $2.50 and $5 Gold Indians were students and/or assistants of Saint-Gaudens.
Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens
It should be no surprise that these two immensely talented men (Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens) would become friends and collaborators. Saint-Gaudens would first become involved with Roosevelt on an artistic level when asked to produce an inaugural medallion for the President's first full term. On January 18, 1905 at the White House, Saint-Gaudens capitulated to Roosevelt's forceful plea to create an inauguration medal that would be "worthy of the event". It was at this meeting that Roosevelt and Secretary of the Treasury Shaw asked Saint-Gaudens to consider new designs for United States coins. The medal that resulted from this January day was of supreme artistic merit. Especially notable was the impressive reverse of the medal that featured a heroic eagle on a cliff. This had been a device that U.S coin designer Charles E. Barber rejected back in 1892! Roosevelt said it best in a letter to his friend: "Thank heaven we have at last some artistic work of permanent worth, done for the government." The reverse eagle design on this inaugural medal was later adopted for use on the $2.5, $5, and $10 Gold Pieces.
Summary
We as coin collectors really owe a lot to this great designer of the 19th and early 20th Century. And certainly it would have been interesting if there had been a Saint-Gaudens Cent. I wonder how many more collectors might have gotten hooked by this potentially beautiful copper coin, which I think some might say (looking that the plaster model) could have had more artistic merit than the more pedestrian (but still quite popular) Lincoln Cent that followed in 1909.
I also have to say that I had no idea (until I researched this) of Saint-Gaudens' impact on some of the most artistically renowned coin designs of the 20th Century. That all of those "collector favorite" coin designs posted above were designed by students of Saint-Gaudens!! You can certainly see the impact of their teacher in the artistry. And, who knows, there might be many fewer coin collectors today if not for these premier artistic coin designs (seemingly some of the most cherished and loved types) that inspired millions, and came into being due to the influence (direct or indirect) of this great man and artist.
Disclaimer
Please note that I did discovery on this by doing web searches, so please excuse any mistakes in facts, I did the best I could based on what i could find!!! Sometimes information on the web is in conflict, so I attempted to piece things together to the best of my ability. I am sure there are true experts on this subject out there. Clearly not me!
0
Comments
sharing !!!!
<< <i>Post of the week, maybe more >>
+1 Just wow. MJ
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
thanks for the effort that went into this, will reread often
Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
The cent would have been better than the cast model implies. Too bad it didn't happen, though the Lincoln cent did work out well. I do love the St. Gaudens double eagles.
Great post, thanks for going to the effort!
<< <i>Post of the week, maybe more >>
Plus +1
Great post!
In God We Trust.... all others pay in Gold and Silver!
Thanks for posting this.
That cent could have been stunning!
Many members on this forum that now it cannot fit in my signature. Please ask for entire list.
Thank you so much for taking the time and making the effort to share this..
Post of the week, month... It's certainly up there and timeless in its value! Most excellent!
Happy, humble, honored and proud recipient of the “You Suck” award 10/22/2014
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
<< <i>At President Roosevelt's insistence, when the new eagle and double eagle coins appeared in 1907, the motto had been omitted. However, following a public outcry, Congress ordered it restored on the gold pieces and the Act of May 18, 1908 made it mandatory on all coins upon which it had heretofore appeared. >>
i have read this many times in books and various places about the motto. however, i seriously doubt there was "public outcry." i have absolutely nothing to base this on other than i just find it hard to believe. i think someone in congress just wanted the credit of getting their bill passed and created this folklore. i happen to side with teddy on this issue...so maybe i just have a bias. anyway...
Yes, I hear you on the whole "public outcry" debate ...
the same term was used about the bare breast on the new Standing Liberty Quarter.
I also agree with Teddy (one of the GREAT presidents of the 20th century) on the religious motto topic.
The founding fathers wanted separation of church and state and I will happily sit in that boat with Washington, Jefferson, et. al.
My Coin Blog
My Toned Lincoln Registry Set
Lance.
<< <i>That was a great post. The face on the cent design looks like a cross between the $10 Indian and a Peace dollar. Nice, but all in all, I'm glad we've been stuck with Lincoln. >>
Numismatic News, The Numismatist, etc. Great bit of history, love the images!!
Here are the students/assistants to Saint-Gaudens:
Buffalo nickel: James Earle Fraser, assistant, 1898-1902
Standing Liberty quarter: Hermon Atkins MacNeil
Indian Head half/quarter eagle: Bela Lyon Pratt
Mercury dime: Adolph Alexander Weinman
Washington quarter: John Flanagan, studio assistant, 1885 to 1890
Walking Liberty half dollar: Adolph Alexander Weinman
The original Winged Liberty double eagle is a nice design and it would be cool to see it as an UHR. A while back, Liberia liked it enough to make a proof version:
Zoins, thanks for the extra info on the names of the "student" designers. And thanks for posting Liberian Proof coin, I had no idea they made that.
My Coin Blog
My Toned Lincoln Registry Set
If you like this, then you may want to read "Striking Change ..." by Michael F. Moran, forward by Q. David Bowers.
Sugar magnolia blossoms blooming, heads all empty and I don't care ...
Thanks for taking the time in doing all the footwork and posting a great thread.
I can only think of how pretty the MPL's could have looked.
- Bob -
MPL's - Lincolns of Color"Central Valley" Roosevelts
Daniel Carr Saint-Gaudens Cent coming to a post box near you?
The flying eagle design was the first obverse design for the cent, according to letters to Roosevelt by Saint-Gaudens, June 28, 1906. Later on February 5, 1907 he wrote to Roosevelt that "due to the illegality of using the flying eagle" he had to switch to a Liberty head.
Here's the reverse he intended:
By the way "Collection of SGNHS" means Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site.
I have never been a fan of dates on the reverse though. (Hopefully, the date would have eventually been moved to the obverse before finalizing!)
It's interesting that the model had a date of 1907.
My Coin Blog
My Toned Lincoln Registry Set
President Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens were not friends. TR collected people of outstanding reputation in many areas of expertise just like he collected wild game heads. All the correspondence between the two was directed toward the coins or medal. Letters to TR’s real friends, such as Senator Lodge, are very different in content and style.
The cent design was finalized in February 1907, but Saint-Gaudens then asked to see it on the double eagle. After having samples made and accommodating the artist for several months, TR made a decision about what designs would be used on the $20 and $10, and discarded the cent entirely in May 1907. (It was TR who wanted the headdress on Liberty, S-G did what he was told. It was never intended to be, nor is it, a Native American on the $10 coin.)
Some posters have expressed doubt about there being any public outcry about the religious motto being omitted in the 1907 $10 and $20. In this instance, the stories are correct (unlike the SLQ). The White House, Treasury, Mint and members of Congress received hundreds of petitions, letters and cards about the motto. TR composed a orm letter that was sent to newspapers and seven ministers who had written to him as soon as the $10 were released. Letters ran about 80% in favor of the motto. Examples of these are in the TR papers at the Library of Congress, and Mint documents in NARA, and archives of individual members of Congress.
Source: Roger Burdette, author of Renaissance of American Coinage
Edited to correct typographical error.
On your point about the interpretation of the winged liberty design (on the far right in the figure below) ... if you read the caption on the far right in the image I posted, it does say it's just a "MODERN INTERPRETATION" and I totally agree ... The "modern interpreation" cast coin on the far right has NOTHING to do with Saint-Gaudens. I just wanted to provide that image to give a rough idea of what a coin might look like (roughly) that that followed SG's original Winged Liberty sketch (shown in the center in the figure below). I think it was made clear in the captions. Reread those and see if you agree.
In any case, the CENTER image (in the figure below) WAS INDEED Saint Gaudens original Winged Liberty plaster sketch and I did find a reference on the web saying that was "lost" for many years -- and it was discovered when SG's home and studio was turned into a national monument site. I have no idea if that is true or not, but I will say that I had never seen the sketch before -- so it's certainly not very well publicized. Rather than "lost" perhaps a better word would have been "little known"!!
In terms of whether or not those two men were real true friends, I honestly don't know! But I did find some web references to that affect. However, I could easily see their relationship being more professional (though I do get the impression that at minimum Teddy Roosevelt admired Saint-Gaudens greatly). However I think that Augustus was already sick (with cancer I believe?) when they met so I doubt they were hanging out and drinking beer.
On your corrections on the "public outcry" --- your documentation lays that issue to rest -- so thanks for posting that!
My Coin Blog
My Toned Lincoln Registry Set
Regarding the wings, according to Wikipedia, Saint-Gaudens was inspired by the "Winged Victory (aka Nike) of Samothrace." The Winged Nike has been on many medals and SCDs and it would have been nice to see her on a US coin as well. It's interesting to note that in the original paster sketch Liberty / Victory is carrying a shield (instead of the olive branch) and the word shield also appears in the lower right corner.
Ah, RWB
i really would have liked it to have ran at least a few years.
it is really romanesque!
.
<--- look what's behind the mask! - cool link 1/NO ~ 2/NNP ~ 3/NNC ~ 4/CF ~ 5/PG ~ 6/Cert ~ 7/NGC 7a/NGC pop~ 8/NGCF ~ 9/HA archives ~ 10/PM ~ 11/NM ~ 12/ANACS cert ~ 13/ANACS pop - report fakes 1/ACEF ~ report fakes/thefts 1/NCIS - Numi-Classes SS ~ Bass ~ Transcribed Docs NNP - clashed coins - error training - V V mm styles -
Love the reverses on this cent. Love the reverse on all of his coins.
That said...I'm not much of a fan of this obverse. And honestly, while I love the idea of the SG $20, I don't think its face is very well executed, either.
His faces on these three coins ($10, $20, $.01) are borderline abstract. It's not that they're terrible, either. It's just that they seem almost ham-fisted compared to his other sculptural faces:
This one gives me chills:
--Severian the Lame
Back around 15 years ago I recalled that they sold paper pressings of the coin plasters, which measure about 11" in diameter. I asked if they sold them anymore and they said if there was demand, they could. I think they asked $25 back in the 1990's. If they asked $50 or even $100 I bet they could get some buyers. I'd be first in line. The first design for the cent was the Flying Eagle design with LIBERTY above. They only have a reverse mold from which a positive plaster could be made, but a contemporary positive plaster does not now survive.
The curator was very helpful and was happy to show me anything I wanted. The Flying Eagle cent design was filed under the $20 so at first they didn't know what I was talking about when I said Flying Eagle Cent plaster.
I have lots of pics nd will post them in a separate thread in a day or so.
I was in New England buying a fabulous collection which was intact since 1864! However, I can't say much more about that.
A while back TomB took this photo at the ASGNHS which he was kind enough to share back in 2007:
<< <i>That was a great post. The face on the cent design looks like a cross between the $10 Indian and a Peace dollar. Nice, but all in all, I'm glad we've been stuck with Lincoln. >>
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
And that Winged Liberty model is just beautiful.
Eagle Eye, can't wait to see your photos. Also cool story, it's great that they were so open on showing you stuff.
My Coin Blog
My Toned Lincoln Registry Set
Mike
Latin American Collection