1908-S $20 MS66 NGC. CAC....

Description

Remarkable 1908-S Twenty Dollar, MS66

1908-S $20 MS66 NGC. CAC. The year 1908 was one of transitions at our nation's mints. Ending a 115-year-old monopoly on copper coinage, Philadelphia would no longer be the only mint producing cents once San Francisco got into the act, making Indian cents in 1908 and 1909 before switching to the new Lincoln design. (Although it opened in 1906, the Denver Mint would not join the cent fray until 1911.) Denver and San Francisco had already moved to the new Indian Head and Saint-Gaudens designs for the half eagle, eagle, and double eagle among the gold coin denominations, but Philadelphia struck both types of the half eagle, including the old Liberty Head type.
Another transition was going on, contemporaneous with those already mentioned: Even though the new designs were fostered by President Roosevelt and originally embodied by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Bela Pratt, it was over the president's strenuous objection (that a reference to God on something so mercantile as money amounted to sacrilege) that Congress insisted upon the motto IN GOD WE TRUST on coinage. But the quarter eagles and half eagles, struck later in the year, all bore the motto, while eagles and double eagles of the new designs were struck both with and without the motto (although not all coins were struck at all mints).
So it was that Philadelphia and Denver struck both No Motto and With Motto twenties and tens, while San Francisco struck only With Motto coins of both denominations. In the case of the double eagle, only 22,000 pieces were struck. As the second year of the new Saint-Gaudens design rather than the first and with the plethora of frankly more-flashy coins appearing the preceding year, it appears that most examples circulated, as the general public had lesser incentive to save the second-year coins. Most certified examples, while elusive in any grade, average about Choice AU or so.
The present Premium Gem coin is a remarkable exception to the rule, as one of only six so certified at NGC, with none finer. PCGS has certified nine MS66 examples, with five finer (11/09). It exhibits the usual lavish mint frost for which the issue is well-known in high grade, and the reddish-gold color is also typical, with a slight tinge of lilac intermingled over each side. The strike is full and, as expected of the grade, there are no mentionable distractions.
From The Ralph P. Muller Collection.(Registry values: N1)

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 26FA, PCGS# 9149, GSID# 10161)

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper
Weight: 33.44 grams
AGW: 0.9675oz
Mintage: 22,000

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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