1907 $20 High Relief, Wire Rim MS67 NGC....

The 1907 High Relief Wire Rim twenty dollar, according to the Census reports, is readily available in Mint State grades through MS64. It becomes considerably scarcer in Gem and Premium Gem, and very challenging in MS67 and higher grades. Indeed, a total of just 23 MS67 specimens, the grade of the piece in the current lot, have been seen by both NGC and PCGS, along with 5 coins grading higher (11/09). Moreover, according to our auction records, only eight Superb Gems have made appearances over the past 29 years. We present a review of four of these sales below.
In its August 1978 sale of the Kaufman Sale, RARCOA offered a piece described as having "magnificent deep golden toning" (lot 1907). The specimen appearing in Superior's October 1989 of the Heifetz Collection (lot 5200) is described as follows: "the strike is spectacular, crisp and bold, with no signs of weakness." The 1907 High Relief in Superior's May 1990 sale is called "Perfect-sleek, elegant, pleasing to the eye and impeccable" (lot 5790). Finally, a Superb Gem we sold in our August 1997 ANA Sale is described thus: "the radiant, satiny luster has a gleam that is unique to High Reliefs" (lot 7873).
The descriptors applied to the foregoing MS67 High Reliefs can be applied to the present coin from the Phillip Morse Collection. It has deep yellow-gold toning over a satiny finish with radiant luster. The strike is exquisite, with all of the design elements displaying excellent definition, and the surfaces are impeccably preserved, exhibiting not even a few minor abrasions that might serve as pedigree markers. Indeed, the only identifiers on this coin are a couple of light alloy spots, one in the middle of the eagle's lowest tail feather, and another on a feathertip over the eagle's leg. A faint wire rim is noted along the right (facing) obverse.