1907 $20 St. Gauden High Relief Flat Rim MS67 NGC
Park Avenue Numismatics Inventory Item # PAN6307
1907 $20 St. Gauden High Relief Flat Rim MS67 NGC
The great drama that unfolded between 1905 and 1908, centered around the redesign of our nation’s gold coinage, has been well documented. The list of players is almost certain to be longer than we know, but some of the most important names on that list are those of Theodore Roosevelt, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Charles Barber, and Philadelphia Mint Director Frank Leach.
After an agonizing process that involved great tension between several of the aforementioned principals (especially Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens versus Mint Engraver Barber), the new double eagle design was ready to be produced in 1907. The initial, so-called Ultra High Relief version of Saint-Gaudens’ double eagle proved technically impractical, and the next phase of the design to be struck has since been designated as the High Relief type.
This transitional type exists in two variations: referred to in recent decades by numismatists as, respectively, the Wire Rim and the Flat Rim. Apparently, the so-called High Relief Wire Rim version of Saint-Gaudens’ design (referred to by some contemporary observers as a “fin” rim) was not regarded with high esteem by those individuals who were most immediately involved in its production. Writing in the Renaissance of American Coinage (2006), Roger Burdette includes the following comments:
“Mint headquarters in Washington received a number of complaints about the new coins. Many of these were apparently concerned with the workmanship of production rather than design. Director Leach forwarded a copy of one letter to Philadelphia ‘…simply [to] let you see a sample of the most recent criticism of the new coinage, and to impress upon your people the fact I shall expect there will be no cause for such or even milder complaints.’ The letter was from F.H. Watriss from the law firm of Bartlett, Frazier, and Carrington in New York:
‘Gentlemen: As an American citizen I take some pride in seeing our Government do its best in everything it undertakes. I have just seen the new $10 and $20 dollar gold coins and although the design may be open to discussion the workmanship cannot be; the latter would be a disgrace to any mechanic. Both issues should be called in. Why the Department should permit such work is beyond comprehension. Very Respectfully Yours’
The workmanship complaints seem to have concentrated on the fin rim common to these coins, as well as the worn look of the $10 piece. After receiving the letter from Watriss, Leach wired the mint with instructions ‘…condemning all pieces with ‘fin’ edge be sure no more such coins get out.’”
The letter from Watriss was dated December 6, 1907. Burdette observes that by December 20 the fin (or Wire Rim) problem seems to have been solved, quoting from a letter of that same date from Director Leach to Barber: “I am more than delighted with the results you have obtained in preventing the ‘fin’. I know the President will be pleased too. I have an appointment to see him Monday A.M.”
Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth (2006), note that the Flat Rim double eagles, like this piece, are much scarcer than their Wire Rim counterparts, by a margin of nearly five to one. This estimate actually seems conservative when considering the combined population data from NGC and PCGS, where 3,887 Wire Rim coins have been graded, versus only 502 of the Flat Rims.
