1909/8 $20 MS66 PCGS....

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Marvelous 1909/8 Twenty Dollar, MS66
Among the Finest Certified

1909/8 $20 MS66 PCGS. FS-301. This is an issue that holds a particular fascination for the present cataloger (GH) as well as many other numismatists. As the sole overdate in the Saint-Gaudens series, its appeal is undeniable. Yet it is certainly not alone in its status as a popular 20th century overdate coin, keeping company as it does with the 1918/7-D Buffalo nickel, the 1918/7-S Standing Liberty quarter, the 1942/1-P and -D Mercury dimes, and the 1943/2-P Jefferson nickel. Some collectors--not all--would add the 1914/3-PDS Buffalos to that list, although they are much more controversial.
However, a considerable difference exists between the 1909/8 and most of the other overdates above: While the "wartime overdates" made during World War I and World War II are usually laid at the feet of the mints' having some of their most-skilled personnel serving in the armed forces--hence the mistakes in die hubbing--the 1909/8 is not a wartime production. It is a dual-hub error like the other overdates--although some numismatists who should have known better believed otherwise at its discovery in 1910. Edgar H. Adams wrote these in the June 1910 issue of The Numismatist:

"Overstruck dates are those where the die of one year has been altered to do service for the succeeding one. The last figure in the date is usually gouged out and replaced by the new one, but seldom is this operation conducted so skillfully that traces of it are not left. Of course the reason for this is to save money in the making of the dies, and the practice has by no means been abandoned altogether, for careful scrutiny of the Saint-Gaudens $20 piece of 1909 will reveal traces of what seems to have been the alteration of the figure 8 to 9."

Another interesting anomaly that can serve for authentication purposes on some, not all, specimens is the diagonal die crack that often appears inside the O in IN GOD WE TRUST (not seen here). This would seem to point to a limited number of reverse dies, despite perhaps half of the 1909 Philadelphia double eagles being overdates. The present Premium Gem is among the four finest certified at PCGS, and there are none graded finer at either service (11/09). Marvelous, abundant frosty luster is the hallmark of this piece. The coin is yellow-gold overall, with considerable areas of reddish-gold and lilac intermixed on each side. The strike is uniformly sharp, further increasing the enormous appeal.
From The Ralph P. Muller Collection.(Registry values: N1)

Coin Index Numbers: (PCGS# 9151, GSID# 10162)

Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper
Weight: 33.44 grams
AGW: 0.9675oz
Mintage: 161,282

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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