1907 $20 High Relief, Flat Rim, MS67 PCGS. CAC....

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1907 High Relief Twenty Dollar, MS67
Much Scarcer Flat Rim Variant

1907 $20 High Relief, Flat Rim, MS67 PCGS. CAC. Ex: Simpson. Augustus Saint-Gaudens had an uneasy alliance with Neoclassicism. He never fully embraced or rejected it, and occasional elements were incorporated in several of his works. The highly opinionated art critic Royal Cortissoz wrote in 1907 of the Neoclassicists and their influence on American sculpture:

"Surveying the earlier history of our own school, one is appalled by the damage suffered through this sheep-like adoption of a classic ideal, passionately worshipped but only half understood. It fell like a blight upon those well-meaning workmen, and though many of them lingered long upon the scene, their art, years ago, was dead as nail in door. Greenough, Hiram Powers, Thomas Crawford, William Henry Rinehart, and the rest - as I recall the names I recall the lines:

'As dust that drives, as straws that blow,

Into the night go one and all.'

"It is just because these men, members of a group once powerful and famous, have since been so thoroughly discredited as artists, that it is interesting to revert to them in approaching the work of Saint-Gaudens."

Saint-Gaudens was different. Rather than adhere to any particular school of thought, he sought to reproduce the subject of his sculpture as it actually was, bringing forth the so-called school of Realism. And yet, realism to Saint-Gaudens could have elements of both real and ideal, as we see in the figure of Liberty on the High Relief double eagle. While not a reproduction of any one model, but rather an amalgam of three models, the figure itself was never intended to represent a single person, but it was to represent an idea. Liberty striding into the dawn of the 20th century was the conceptual foundation of the nearly three-dimensional figure seen on the coin. The surfaces glow with bright, satiny mint luster and are nearly flawless. Each side is green-gold with no trace of the often-seen reddish tinge. The strike details are, of course, completely brought up in all areas. Identifiable by a small spot of grease that was struck into the coin at the time of production, located just to the left of the eagle's beak.(Registry values: N10218)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 26F2, PCGS# 9136, Greysheet# 10133)

Weight: 33.44 grams

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper

Note for clients in the European Union: This lot is considered by the European Union to be “investment gold”. We believe that it meets the criteria established in Article 344(1), point (2) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC and thus should be exempt from import VAT regardless of the selling price. Any questions or concerns about VAT should be addressed to your accountant or local tax authority.

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