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  'Defining Moment in American Coinage' Gold Coin Rarity Created (2012-02-15)
In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt thought that the United States had 'atociously hideous' coinage, so he asked America’s greatest sculptor to create designs for new coins that would be as beautiful as those created in ancient Greece. Even though sculptor Augustus Saint Gaudens was ill with cancer he produced an exquisite Ultra High Relief design intended for United States $20 gold coins (called 'Double Eagles'). Only two survive with a diameter of 1 1/16 inch diameter, and they are in the Smithsonian Institution. About 100 years later, in 2009, Director of the Mint Edmund Moy recreated the Ultra High Relief Double Eagle in the same size, containing exactly 1 try oz. of pure gold. Only 115,178 were made and now the mint is sold out. Mr. Moy has agreed to sign the certificate of authenticity and the book that accompanies just 88 of what he calls 'the defining moment of American coinage,' that are being offered to collectors and investors.
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