1908 $20 Saint-Gaudens With Motto PCGS MS64

1908 $20 Saint-Gaudens With Motto

When the "new" $20 Gold Liberty coin was introduced in 1907, the American public answered with a sigh of appreciation. Augustus Saint-Gaudens had clearly outdone himself. Even President Theodore Roosevelt declared its design to be the most beautiful to ever appear on a U.S. coin. And even after 100 years, many collectors still agree!

But there was also something else that was very different about the 1907 $20 Saint-Gaudens. At Roosevelt's request, it was missing the words "In God We Trust." Roosevelt felt that putting God's name on money was disrespectful, but he was soon overruled by Congress (and by extension, the American public). So, in 1908, the motto was reinstated – but not before a significant number of coins had already left the mint!

The gorgeous piece offered here is one of the few 1908-P $20 Saint-Gaudens to be struck with the famous motto on its surface. In fact, only 156,258 of these coins were struck, compared to more than four million "No Motto" $20 coins struck the same year!

But don't go thinking that there are 156,000 of these floating around on the open market. Many were likely melted down following our nation's departure from the gold standard during the Great Depression, with the few survivors having been sent overseas for safekeeping.

This particular coin comes from one such overseas hoard – the Rive d'Or Collection, and has been certified by Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) as being in beautiful Mint State-64 (MS64) condition. The Smithsonian® collection has an example in About Uncirculated-58 (AU58) condition.

A MOMENT IN HISTORY – Most of the Saint-Gaudens Gold Liberty did not have the iconic American motto "In God We Trust" struck in it, much to the dismay of the American people and Congress. It wasn't until the later part of 1908 that the motto was added. Due to this, there are only 156,258 "With Motto" coins struck as opposed to the "No Motto" coins that had over 4 million struck.

• EXCELLENT LEGAL TENDER – These coins are each nearly 1 ounce of gold and are $20 legal United States tender.

• LESS THAN THE MINTAGE – While 156,258 "With Motto" coins were struck, it is likely that many were melted down making it an even smaller amount that remains in existence.

• A WORK OF ART – The depiction of Lady Liberty designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens was considered by President Theodore Roosevelt to be the most beautiful image to ever appear on a U.S. coin. There are many collectors today that agree with that statement, even now more than 100 years later.

• GOLDILOCKS GRADING – These "With Motto" Saint-Gaudens Gold Liberty coins are graded by the professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) as being in Mint State-64 (MS64) condition. This is the sweet spot for grading as MS65 coins cost about $14,000 and higher gradings can cost around $40,000.

We've managed to secure 20 of these magnificent coins for our customers, so hurry and secure yours before this limited supply disappears.