1922-S Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle. MS-64+ (PCGS).Lovely golden-orange patina with a tinge of pale rose further enlivening the reverse. Sharply struck and highly lustrous, the surfaces are temptingly close to full Gem quality in their preservation. The 1922-S once ranked among the leading rarities in the Saint-Gaudens double eagle series of 1907 to 1933, even placing ahead of such highly touted issues as the 1920-S, 1929, 1930-S, 1931 and 1932. It is almost certainly the case that the majority of the 2,658,000-piece mintage remained undistributed in government vaults, the coins being melted in 1937. Beginning in the 1950s, however, small quantities began turning up overseas in the holdings of foreign banks, mostly European although in 1983 a hoard of nearly 200 examples turned up in Central America. Indeed, repatriations account for the majority of coins in todays market, although the 1922-S remains scarce with Q. David Bowers (2004) accounting for only 1,500 or so extant in Mint State. Few are as well preserved and aesthetically pleasing as this upper end near-Gem.From the Paisley Acres Collection.
