If you were to choose between the two graded coins shown below, which gold coin will you pick?

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^{Photos of the two graded coins above ☝ were taken from the ModernCoinMart website.}

The American Beauty

2009 Ultra High Relief $20 Gold Double Eagle, as presented by the US Mint, video snippet by @silversaver888 Minted in 24K gold exclusively for the year 2009, this gold coin was designed by the master sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

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Designing the new Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles

Saint-Gaudens worked on the designs based on the request by Roosevelt that they be "distinctly American." He incorporated a Native-American theme in the designs at the President's request. The obverse design shows Lady Liberty stepping up onto a ledge bearing a torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left hand. The reverse design shows an eagle in flight with the rising sun at the bottom of the design with sun rays pointing upward throughout the design behind the eagle.

These designs were incorporated in high relief in 1907, but had to be changed a number of times because the initial run of coins could not be fully struck with one blow of the coining press, and the force used to mint the coins was too great for the dies to withstand an affordable number of coins struck per die. The relief of the design was lowered in subsequent runs to ensure these problems were solved. By 1908 the coins were in full production with the lower-relief designs.

Why are there "No Motto" Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle gold coins?

When President Roosevelt originally spoke with Saint-Gaudens about the design of this series, he told Saint-Gaudens to leave "In God We Trust" out of the design of the coin. He felt it was not fitting to place such a statement on our coins. Saint-Gaudens complied and left the motto off of the coins. Shortly after the coins were released to the public, a roar of protest convinced Roosevelt that he had been wrong, so in mid-1908 he asked Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber to incorporate the motto into the design wherever Barber saw fit.

Condition of $20 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle gold coins

During the time when these double eagles were minted the typical worker made about $400 per year, so a double eagle was about equal to a month's wages. These coins were too high denomination for most people to afford, and losing one of them would be devastating to a large majority of the population. Their chief purpose in commerce was for business to business transactions such as bank transfers. Another of their chief purposes was to monetize the surplus stores of gold deposits for accounting purposes. They were never really intended to be placed in the hands of common people in typical commerce. Given that, many of the $20 Double Eagle gold coins were never pocket-worn in circulation. Most were instead transferred from place to place in bags with other coins. This made low-end uncirculated grades the most common among these coins, while the higher grade (mint state 63 and above) coins are highly sought after because they are far less common.

😍The 1908 $20 Gold Double Eagle is my dream gold coin!😍

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