1907 High Relief (1907 $20 High Relief) Wire Rim, NGC MS62. Mint luster shimmers on this wonderful 1907 High Relief Double Eagle creating the impression that Liberty is illuminated by sunlight as she strides forward. On the reverse it is as if a sun is shining down on the eagle because the tops of its wings, neck and head are bathed in mint luster. Remarkably little abrasion is evident for the grade. The central design elements are sharp, but there is a little softness on the suns rays on the reverse.

Designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and struck in high relief, the double eagle shows Liberty standing on a rocky summit, her left foot planted on a rock that is higher than the rest. The wind blows her dress and hair. Stylized sun rays are seen behind her full-length figure. She holds a large torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left. Above her is LIBERTY. The date is to the right of her left ankle, and a small Capitol building is to the left of her right foot. Except for the bottom right, forty-six small stars, corresponding to the number of states in the Union at the time, encircle the design. E PLURIBUS UNUM with its words separated by stars is on the edge of the coin. The reverse shows a large eagle in flight to the left. It is reminiscent of Gobrechts flying eagle. Beneath the eagle is the rising sun with stylized rays, some of which touch the opposite rim. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is in an arc at the top. Just beneath the legend is the denomination TWENTY DOLLARS. The words in the legends on the reverse are separated by dots.

Saint-Gaudens first commission was a statue of Admiral Farragut that is still in Madison Square Park in New York. By the 1890s Saint-Gaudens had produced his statues of Diana and Abraham Lincoln, both considered some of his greatest works. He also created works such as the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common and the equestrian monument to Civil War general John A. Logan in Chicago. He became part of a group of new artists and architects and worked for an architectural firm for whom he produced a group of monuments and decorative sculpture. Throughout his career, he worked with architects creating works that were designed specifically for the sites they were building. At the entrance to New Yorks Central Park is his bronze statue of General Sherman led by Victory. It took him eleven years to complete this project.

There are two varieties of the High Relief double eagle, the flat rim and the knife-rim, which are also called the flat edge and the wire edge double eagle. The wire edge is actually a rim or flange around half or more of one or both sides of the coin. It was made when metal was squeezed between the collar and the die. Most researchers believe that the flange was made unintentionally since it caused problems in ejecting the coins as they were struck.

The Saint-Gaudens high relief coins have always been favorites of collectors and investors. Today they are still favored, particularly in mint state, and are very much in demand.