$20 gold coin, 1907
This high-relief coin was one of several experimental pieces struck in December 1907 to test the new design of the $20 gold coin. The work of the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who had been commissioned by President Theodore Roosevelt, it features a figure of Liberty on the obverse and an eagle on the reverse. At the insistence of U.S. Mint officials, the $20 coins that ultimately went into circulation between 1907 and 1933 were produced with a much lower relief so they could be struck more easily. A gift from Saint-Gaudens to President Roosevelt, this coin was donated to the Smithsonian in 1967 by Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt, the president's grandson.
See also:
Coins and Currency, Presidential Memorabilia
