1927-S Saint Gaudens - 1927-S $20 PCGS MS62. PCGS Plus. Here is a lustrous, Mint State 1927-S Saint-Gaudens double eagle that looks more like a 63+. The coin is well struck with full details on Libertys bosom, the Capitol building, the feathers on the eagle and the top of the wings. The surfaces are original and clean for the grade with no notable abrasion marks or other distractions. The luster on Libertys shoulders and the side of her face as well as her outstretched arm and olive branch make it seem as if the is illuminated from above on this impressive piece. 

Low relief Saint-Gaudens double eagle coins were issued beginning in 1907. They continued until 1933, when all gold production stopped. The low relief coins had Arabic numerals for the date instead of the Roman numerals seen on the previous two issues. In 1908, despite President Roosevelts preferences to the contrary, the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added to the reverse. Roosevelt had been opposed to the motto because he felt that considering how a coin could be used, it was blasphemous to have the name of God on it. Coins could fall on the floor and be stepped on. They could be used for gambling or prostitution.  Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the designer, agreed and the two of them planned the double eagle with no motto. In fact the mintages of the first year and half of the second had no motto. However, Congress disagreed and ordered all coins to adhere to the law that was passed in 1865. In the early part of the Twentieth Century, those who opposed having Gods name on the coinage were probably thought of as anarchists and/or Bolsheviks. Of course, Congress was more concerned with public opinion than the First Amendments principle of separation of church and state, and so the motto was mandated.

It became Charles Barbers responsibility to rework the coin adding the motto. In 1912 the coin was further modified by adding two stars for New Mexico and Arizona, the two newest states. Barber also modified the reverse by changing the tail feathers from eight to nine, and the suns rays from 34 to 33. He also made the heavier rays thinner and some of them longer.

During the Great Recall of 1933-34, there was extensive melting of double eagles. Americans were mandated to turn in their hoards of gold with an exemption of $100 in gold coin per person. Collectors of rare and unusual coins were also allowed to keep their collections, probably because certain government officials had collections of pattern coins. Not only did the act prohibit the hoarding of gold, it prohibited the increasingly extensive speculative activity abroad in foreign exchange [that] has resulted in severe drains on the Nations stocks of gold. As a result, President Franklin Roosevelt declared a national emergency and bank holiday, which he felt would be in the national interest. After confiscation of the coins, there was melting. The coins were made into gold bricks that were deposited in Fort Knox. In the period from 1933 to 1939, 66,383,444 double eagles were melted.

The majority of dates 1912-1933 were destroyed. Some coins survived this melting because they had been stored in European bank vaults. However, for low mintage coins such as the 1921, the percentage of coins that was saved very low since few specimens reached Europe. The result is that when rare specimens are offered, they often are either in circulated condition or have the usual bag marks.
Despite Charles Barbers tinkering with the design, it has retained its appeal over the years. In fact the gold American Eagle bullion program, first issued in 1986, makes use of the design in a somewhat modified form.

The original design of Saint-Gaudens double eagle shows a full figure of standing Liberty. She wears a loose, flowing gown that allows her left leg to be exposed as she rests it on a rock. In her right hand she carries a long torch and in her left, an olive branch. Behind her are the rays of a rising sun. To the left of her right foot there is a small Capitol building, and to the right of her left ankle is the date. She is encircled by forty-eight stars, one for each state in the Union at the time of issue. The edge is lettered E PLURIBUS UNUM, divided by stars. The reverse shows a large eagle, reminiscent of Gobrechts, flying towards the left over a stylized rising sun. Some of the suns rays touch the opposite rim. IN GOD WE TRUST is on the circular edge of the sun. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is in an arc at the top of the coin. Just beneath the legend is the denomination, TWENTY DOLLARS. All of the words in the legends on the reverse are separated by dots.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens first commission was for a statue of Admiral Farragut in Madison Square Park in New York City. He also did statues of Abraham Lincoln, Civil War General John A. Logan, and a special statue of General Sherman let by Victory, which is at the entrance to New Yorks Central Park. Much of his work was done designing decorative art for architectural firms with whom he worked.  In 1900 Saint-Gaudens moved to his summer home in Cornish, New Hampshire. A group of artists joined him there, including Bela Lyon Pratt, his former student and future designer of the new quarter and half eagles. In 1907 Saint-Gaudens died of stomach cancer just after he created the beautiful high relief models for the new eagle and double eagle coins at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt. Saint-Gaudens had earlier designed Roosevelts second inaugural medal, and the two had become friends. 

From its original mintage of 3,107,000, one would think that the 1927-S double eagle is readily available in almost any grade today. Yet they are hard to find today because of the extensive melting that took place. In its population report, PCGS shows just the present coin at the MS62+ grade level.