Saint experts, couple questions before I go look at some 1907 Saints

Moonbiter

I'm in the process of getting my daughter a $20 gold piece and will be looking at two PCGS graded Saints on Weds. One is an MS63 the other is a 64. Is this a good year to consider? What would be a fair price for one in this grade? I have not seen the coins yet, and I might not like looks but if I do, is this a good year to look at or should I look for a different year.

Thanks

BloodMan

1907 is popular as the first year of issue. You may be able to find an MS63 for $1350-1500 and MS64 for $1850-2000. These prices are a bit higher than ultra common dates like 1908 NM, 1924 and 1927. This issue is not usually well struck, and the facial features are often flat. It can be tough to find one with nice definition.

In the $2000 range, you might also look for a nice 1909 MS62, which is a lower mintage date and a bit under appreciated relative to the overdate.


PCGS MS62, ex ANACS MS62



NGC MS63 OH

Moonbiter

DUH, got Roman Numerals and Arabic Numerals mixed up.

Broadstruck

A nice MS64 1907 that's clean and has a good face strike would fetch $1850+

It's a good date as for first year type sets it's always in demand.

If your looking for just a No Motto type I'd go for a 1908-D as it's a better choice IMHO.

Broadstruck

<< <i>DUH, got Roman Numerals and Arabic Numerals mixed up. >>



Not the finalized business strike... that's just on the High Relief flat and wire edge examples.

Here's the full scoop -

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt summoned his personal friend, famed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and confided what he called his pet crime: to redesign the country's coinage in the likeness of the coins of ancient Greece, the birthplace of democracy. Although in failing health, Saint-Gaudens rose to what would become his last challenge, producing a stunning design that many consider to be the most beautiful coin ever produced.

Offered several choices by Saint-Gaudens, Teddy Roosevelt personally selected the so-called High Relief design. The obverse features the image of Miss Liberty striving gloriously into the future; the reverse features the majestic Flying Eagle. It is called high-relief because the devices are raised to an unusual height above the fields, which are excessively concave. During March and April of 1907, some 24 Proof specimens were struck of this Saint-Gaudens High Relief design. Each coin required an amazing nine blows of the dies to strike up the design in full detail! Sadly, Saint-Gaudens died on August 3, 1907, without seeing his magnificent coin enter into circulation.

In November of 1907, production of regular issues High Relief $20 Saint-Gaudens gold coins began. Some 11,250 coins were struck, but with great difficulty, for each coin required five blows from the press to raise the design into acceptable relief. In addition, bankers complained that these new coins, when placed in traditional bankers' stacks of twenty, wobbled and fell over! So practicality won out over aesthetics. The Saint Gaudens design was altered by Charles Barber into a flat relief version, and coin production resumed in earnest. The first Barber-redesigned Saints were struck with 1907 and 1908 dates. As one would expect, the original 1907 High Relief $20 Saint-Gaudens gold coins immediately became prized as collectors items.

roadrunner

With the current oddball pricing structure in Saints where many better dates have been compressed to near nothing by common 63 to 65 saints, the 1907 now presents itself as a good value imo. It sells for slightly more than a common date 1924-1928 whereas a few years ago it was easily 2X the price of those. As a date, 1907 is not much more rare than many semi-scarce dates in the series but it has the big advantage of being the first year of a two year type coin. It's a popular date that is sought after by non-Saint collectors. If I was just looking for a single saint, the 1907 would be a good candidate. While I avoided these 2 years ago because premiums were too high over generic dates, now I like them as the premiums have shrunk to within 10% or so.

Be aware these come with a weakness in detail on the obv and rev high points that the later saints do not usually exhibit. Many people wrongly call this wear (eagle's upper legs, breast, inner wings and Liberty's left upper leg/knee and breasts for example). And on the flip side, many slabbed pieces in MS holders up to 64/65 have significant rub on them (assumed to be strike). Of those 2 1907's pictured in the thread, the first one shows these weaknesses quite clearly while the 2nd one is much more defined. The first coin looks to have rub while the 2nd one doesn't. The 2nd piece has no flatness in the eagle's central breast or upper leg feathers...a good sign of an unc coin.

roadrunner