1927-S $20 MS67 PCGS. CAC....

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1927-S Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, MS67
The Sole Finest Known, CAC Approved
Ex: Museum of Connecticut History
Morse-Duckor-Pogue

1927-S $20 MS67 PCGS. CAC. Ex: D. Brent Pogue Collection. Like many other issues in the Saint-Gaudens series from the 1920s and 1930s, the 1927-S had a substantial mintage. In this case, 3.1 million pieces were produced. However, almost the entire mintage was melted in the 1930s. In the 1940s, the 1927-S was considered the fourth-scarcest issue in the series, thought to be even more elusive than the 1927-D. From the original mintage, only 3,750 1927-S twenties were released through official channels, according to Dr. Charles W. Green. However, Green's tally refers only to the coins distributed to banks and Federal Reserve Banks. In Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles, numismatic researcher Roger Burdette clarifies the number of additional coins potentially available to the public:

"When production ended on October 31 all of the coins went into storage except for 114 remainders that were transferred to the San Francisco Mint Cashier. In February 1928 coins remaining from the annual pyx, 3,055 pieces were kept with the Philadelphia Mint's Cashier for use in daily operations. It is likely that 3,000 of these were bagged and placed in storage with the other uncurrent gold. This left 55 pieces in the Cashier's control. The total of coins available from the two mints [Cashiers] was 169."

Dealers in the 1930s and 1940s appear to have had a good grasp of the numbers available of Saint-Gaudens twenties on the market at that time. What they could not know, however, were the numbers of coins that had been exported to Europe and South America.

During the 10-year period we surveyed between 1935 and 1944, which followed the massive Gold Recall of 1933 where most of the 1927-S mintage was destroyed, the 1927-S twenty only appeared in two of the 152 auctions examined. This extreme rarity in public auctions at the time underscores B. Max Mehl's (curiously worded) assertion in 1949: "I believe there are no fewer than three or four specimens known." Like the 1931 and 1932 twenties, the lowest price for the 1927-S during those early years was in Morgenthau's New York Collection in May 1939, where an example went begging at $67. By 1944 the coin in the Bell sale brought $500 with a $125 catalog value. By the time of the Bell sale, all of the great rarities in the Saint-Gaudens series had turned up in public auction at least once. Two years later, the World's Greatest Collection 1927-S realized $925 with a catalog value of $175.

Then, after World War II, coins began to surface in the bullion and numismatic holdings of European banks. When most issues began to turn up, some in large numbers, former extreme rarities were downgraded to merely scarce in a few short years. In the 1950s one or two pieces at a time of the 1927-S began to show up in European gold holdings. But, unlike the 1922-S and 1926-S, it never appeared in quantity, and its rarity status has remained constant through the years.

Of the 295 pieces reported by both major services, 76 coins are in circulated grades from XF40 to AU58 (most in the latter grade), proving the 1927-S was publicly released, at least in small numbers, at the time of issue. However, the 1927-S is best known as an absolute rarity with perhaps only 300 or so individual coins surviving in all grades combined, per Burdette. Of the Uncirculated coins known most are lower-end examples, seldom seen above MS62. At the upper end of Uncirculated, there is a small but important group of outstanding coins, perhaps as many as 14 to 16 pieces that grade MS65 to MS67. At the MS67 level there are three pieces reported, but the Morse-Duckor-Pogue specimen is the only PCGS-certified coin, and has remained such throughout the era of third party grading (7/25). In fact, although two NGC coins are reported in MS67, none has appeared at auction. It should be noted, that the Pogue specimen was once in an NGC MS67 holder, in the mid-1990s. Garrett and Guth state that the Smithsonian example would grade MS67, but of course that Superb Gem is unavailable to collectors.

As with almost all 1927-S twenties, the visual focus of the present example is its bright, thick mint frost. Some are known with a satiny texture, but those are in the minority. The luster is even, light reddish-gold with the most notable variation being a single alloy spot in the right obverse field, a common trait on 1927-S twenties. The upper reverse also displays a subtle accent of lilac patina intermixed with the otherwise even reddish-gold. The strike details are strong to full on each side, and there is little evidence of the often-seen beveling on the rims, although slight irregularity is noted on the reverse. Abrasions are almost nonexistent, but for the sake of pedigree identifiers we will repeat those that have been named in previous auction appearances. A tiny mark occurs on the eighth ray on the obverse (counting from left to right), and a slightly curved scrape (most likely of Mint origin) is noted on the sun on the lower reverse that runs parallel to the edge. The extraordinary condition of this 1927-S is undoubtedly due to its unbroken pedigree since 1927. A 1927-S twenty is always a focal point of any offering of Saint-Gaudens twenties. This is the finest coin known, one that has resided in three of the finest sets of this series ever assembled.

Significant 1927-S Double Eagles
1. MS67 PCGS CAC. Treasurer of the United States; George Godard; Museum of Connecticut History Collection (Heritage, 6/1995), lot 6027, $181,500; Philip Morse Collection (Heritage, 11/2005), lot 6698, $345,000; Exclusively Internet Auction (Heritage, 2/2006), lot 13724, not sold; Dr. & Mrs. Steven L. Duckor Collection (Heritage, 1/2012), lot 4645, $276,000; Philadelphia Signature (Heritage, 8/2012), lot 5460, $282,000; FUN Platinum Night (Heritage, 1/2013), lot 5966, $340,750; D. Brent Pogue Collection, Part VII (Stack's Bowers, 3/2020), lot 7355, $264,000. The present coin.
2. MS66+ PCGS CAC. Rarities Sale (Bowers and Merena, 7/2002), lot 931, $97,750; John Kutasi Collection (Heritage, 1/2007), lot 3304, $172,500; ANA Signature (Heritage, 8/2007), lot 2084, $184,000; Jay Brahin Collection (Heritage, 1/2010), lot 2334, $276,000; Rollo Fox Collection (Heritage, 1/2020), lot 4047, $312,000; Half Dome Collection (PCGS Set Registry).
3. MS66 PCGS. Dr. Thaine B. Price Collection (David Akers, 5/1998), lot 116, $132,000.
4. MS66 PCGS. Norweb Collection, Part III (Bowers and Merena, 11/1988), lot 4129, $29,700; Bob R. Simpson Collection; Important Selections from The Bob R. Simpson Collection, Part IV / FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2023), lot 3957.
5. MS66 NGC. Phillip Morse Collection, Part II (Heritage, 12/2005), lot 2070, $115,000; Ohringer Family Trust Holdings, Part II (Goldberg Auctions, 9/2008), lot 1319, $161,000; Collection of a Distinguished WW2 Veteran (Heritage, 8/2020), lot 4102, $144,000.
6. MS65+ PCGS. Portland Signature (Heritage, 3/2004), lot 6609, $119,600; Jacob Collection (Heritage, 1/2008), lot 3397, $149,500.
7. MS65+ PCGS. Phillip H. Morse Collection (Heritage, 11/2005), lot 6699, $132,250; Exclusively Internet Auction (Heritage, 12/2005), lot 14070, not sold; Exclusively Internet Auction (Heritage, 1/2006), lot 11370, not sold; Exclusively Internet Auction (Heritage, 4/2006), lot 11486, not sold; FUN Platinum Night II (Heritage, 1/2007), lot 3827, not sold; Dallas Signature (Heritage, 10/2008), lot 2506, $138,000; Bay State Collection, Part II (Heritage, 7/2009), lot 1358, not sold; Dallas Signature (Heritage, 10/2009), $109,250; Fort Worth ANA (Heritage, 3/2010), lot 2841, $109,250.
8. MS65 PCGS. Boston Jubilee Auction (NERCA, 7/1980), lot 367, $32,000; Auction '90 (David Akers, 8/1990), lot 1996, $38,500; Dr. Steven L. Duckor Collection, sold privately in 2006; Jay Brahin, sold privately in 2007; Ray Moore Collection (per Jay Brahin) (Heritage, 9/2008), lot 4504, $161,000; Bella Collection (PCGS Set Registry); A&A Saints Collection (PCGS Set Registry); FUN Platinum Night (Heritage, 1/2020), lot 4567, $132,000; Dallas Signature (Heritage, 8/2020), lot 4101, $180,000.
9. MS65 PCGS. Ralph P. Muller Collection (Heritage, 1/2010), lot 2333, $149,500; Cherny Collection (Heritage, 11/2016), lot 5642, $199,750; Half Dome Collection (Legend Rare Coin Auctions, 1/2022), lot 236, $246,750.
10. MS65 NGC. Donald E. Bently Collection (Heritage, 3/2014), lot 30507, $105,750.(Registry values: N1)
From The Alymaya Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 26GJ, PCGS# 9188, Greysheet# 10185)

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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