Ultra High Relief Masterpiece in Proof 68 Featured in Heritage's 2007 F.U.N. Auction in Orlando

America's Most Beautiful Coin in Extraordinary Condition

MCMVII Ultra High Relief $20, PR68 PCGS

DALLAS, TEXAS: America's most beautiful coin, in the penultimate grade of Proof 68 (PCGS), will be auctioned by Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas. Valued at more than two million dollars, this numismatic masterpiece will be sold at Heritage's January 3-6, 2007 official auction of the Florida United Numismatists convention. The auction will be held at the Orange County Convention facility in Orlando. Heritage's auctions at F.U.N. will total more than $50 million of rare coins and currencies. Many lot descriptions and full-color, enlargeable images can now be viewed online at HA.com as the catalog is prepared; the catalog will be officially posted and open for bidding in mid-December.

"Theodore Roosevelt, rising to the Presidency after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901, was prescient in understanding the leadership role that America would play in the twentieth century," reflected Heritage President Greg Rohan. "He desired new designs for American coinage that would project to all nations the vision and spirit of the United States - qualities that matched Teddy's own energetic spirit. Some twenty years earlier, he had written an essay on the coinage of Gouverneur Morris, so his interest in these metallic ambassadors of America was longstanding. Just as mint officials from the 1790s understood the importance of exact standards to gaining acceptance of U.S. coins abroad, Roosevelt understood the importance of the symbolism on American coins to convey our dynamism."

Roosevelt challenged Augustus Saint-Gaudens, America's foremost sculptor, to redesign our circulating coinage, which Roosevelt considered to be artistically of "atrocious hideousness." Roosevelt looked to the higher relief coins of the ancient Greeks for inspiration. The Ultra High Relief being offered at F.U.N. is very much the product of those desires and vision of these two men.

This Ultra High Relief was struck seven times on a medal press in order to fully bring up every detail in the dies. It was annealed between strikings, heating the coin to a cherry-red color and then cooling it in a weak solution of nitric acid. This annealing process gave Ultra High Reliefs an even more distinctive appearance, as the result was a bright surface of nearly pure gold with no variation in appearance between the fields and devices. The 'finish' of the Ultra High Relief transcends terms such as "satiny" or "frosted" - it is simply pure, glittering gold. Charles Barber, Chief Engraver of the Mint, certainly objected to the interference of outsiders such as Saint-Gaudens, but the lengthy, exacting production process for these Ultra High Relief coins made them impractical for commercial purposes. That the spirit of Saint-Gaudens' design survived the evolution of the double eagle through the 'regular' High Reliefs and thence to lower relief coins was to the artistic benefit of the nation.

The Ultra High Relief has few peers in terms of desirability and historic importance. Only 19-20 examples survive, but their desirability goes far beyond simple rarity - this is a coin whose popularity is solidly grounded in aesthetic splendor. Behind that, the lore of the Ultra High Relief includes the meticulous striking conditions under which these pieces were produced, their production by presidential order, and the time spent to strike each coin. This is the ultimate realization of the aesthetic vision of President Theodore Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens; an unlikely pair, perhaps, but a partnership that produced a design that has been revered for a century.

Anchor consignments to be auctioned at F.U.N. include: Dr. Robert Loewinger's Collection of Proof Gold Rarities; William Luebke's Collection of Bust Dollars;

Troy Wiseman Collection of Colonial Coins; The Jones Beach Collection of Patterns and Type; The Essex Palm Collection Of Early Federal Coinage, The Freedom Collection, The Monedas Oro Collection, The Oak Island Collection, The Prinzi Trust Collection, The Temecula Collection, and The James Paul Collection.

For information about consigning to a future auction, call one of our Consignment Directors on our Hotline: 1-800-872-6467 ext. 222 (Coins) or ext. 555 (Currency).

Images, descriptions, and prices realized from all of Heritage's previous auctions are available in the Permanent Auction Archives at the Heritage website, HA.com.

To reserve a copy of the catalog for any upcoming Heritage auction, please contact Nicole Jewell, c/o Heritage Auction Galleries, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX 75219, or call 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272.