MCMVII (1907) Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle. High Relief. Flat Rim. MS-65+ (NGC).Enchanting golden-yellow surfaces are intensely lustrous with a satin to softly frosty texture to the finish. Fully struck from the rims to the centers with exceptional preservation for this perennially popular 20th century gold issue. Coveted for generations, the MCMVII High Relief double eagle remains one of the most desired of all United States coins. Bringing Augustus Saint-Gaudens artistic, high relief vision to reality was fraught with difficulties and obstacles that ended up being insurmountable for regular circulation coinage given the technology of the day. While the experiments in producing the now legendary Ultra High Relief coins failed, Theodore Roosevelt was determined to see a high relief version for circulation and urged the Mint to continue development of a workable model that would take only one strike to render the design properly. As a result, 12,367 coins were eventually struck for circulation in the High Relief format, as offered here.<p>Over a long period of years various surveys in the numismatic field have ranked this as the most beautiful of all circulating coinage designs. We estimate that perhaps 6,000 are known, or about half the mintage, as these were appreciated in their own time and many were saved. However, few can match the quality of this upper end Gem Uncirculated example.
