1907 High Relief & the Coin Designer
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907)
Among the many great works of art created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens was his Sherman Monument, an equestrian statue of American Civil War Major General William Tecumseh Sherman. This magnificent statue is located in President's Park in Washington, D.C.
Saint Gaudens was truly one of America’s greatest sculptors and the artistic force behind the legendary $20 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle. Born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1848 and raised in New York City, he began his career as a skilled cameo cutter before refining his classical style through study in Paris and Rome.
By the late 1800s, Saint-Gaudens had become the nation’s premier public sculptor, celebrated for works that combined realism with deep emotional impact. His most acclaimed monument, the Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Massachusetts Memorial in Boston, helped define the American Renaissance era and set a new standard for public art in the United States.
Creating New 19th Century Coin Designs in 1907
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt enlisted Saint-Gaudens to redesign American coinage, aiming to create circulating art inspired by the beauty of ancient Greek coins.
Despite declining health, Saint-Gaudens produced the sweeping Liberty design that debuted on the 1907 Double Eagle. The earliest Ultra High Relief and High Relief versions required multiple strikes and are among the most coveted U.S. gold coins today.
Saint-Gaudens died in 1907 in Cornish, New Hampshire, shortly after his masterpiece entered production. His legacy endures in America’s monuments—and in the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, still widely regarded as the most beautiful coin ever issued by the United States Mint.
The Magnificent 1907 High Relief Saint Gaudens
No photo we've ever seen captures the beauty and depth of the very first version of the 1907 Saint Gaudens in high relief format. In every way, it is a magnificent work of art. Note the date in Roman numerals and lack of a motto under the flying eagle.
The 1907 Saint-Gaudens High Relief Double Eagle stands as one of the most beautiful coins ever struck by the United States Mint, a bold artistic triumph. Unlike ordinary coinage, the High Relief required multiple strikes—often three to five blows from the dies—to fully bring up its extraordinary sculptural detail. Sadly, production proved slow, costly, and impractical for mass circulation coins of the day.
Extremely Low Mintage for Circulating Gold Coinage
With a limited mintage of just 11,250 pieces, newspapers of the era praised its breathtaking beauty, calling it a renaissance of American coin design, yet bankers quickly complained the coin would not stack properly due to its unusually high, rounded relief.
The excessive production time and expense ultimately forced the Mint to lower the relief later that year, ending the short-lived experiment. Notably, the 1907 High Relief was also the first U.S. coinage in the modern era to omit the motto “In God We Trust.” This decision sparked public controversy and led to its restoration on later issues.
Truly a Collector Dream Coin
Today, the High Relief is among the most coveted of all American gold coins, prized for its artistry, historic importance, and scarcity; survivors in Gem condition are rare, with only a few hundred graded MS-65 or finer by PCGS and NGC combined. Exceptional examples have realized auction prices exceeding $2 million, cementing its status as a trophy "Dream Coin" of the highest order.
If this a coin you'd be interested in acquiring, call us and ask one of our Rare Coin Specialists to advise you on price and availability.