A set of 52 $20 gold coins designed by New Hampshire’s Augustus Saint-Gaudens at the beginning of the 20th century could fetch millions in an eBay auction.
Saint-Gaudens, the famed sculptor and icon of the “American Renaissance” movement, designed the coins at the request of President Teddy Roosevelt between 1905 and 1907.
The coins were minted between 1907 to 1932 and in wide circulation. But few remain.
The coins are so rare in large part because of the Depression, said coin dealer Barry Stuppler, who is handling the sale through Mint State Gold by Stuppler and Co., a California-based firm. The auction began on Thursday and ends on April 8.
At the height of the crisis, President Franklin Roosevelt outlawed the private ownership of gold and confiscated gold coins, bullion and certificates to inject capital into the Federal Reserve.
“A lot of gold coins were called in or melted, a lot of them were destroyed,” Stuppler said.
Stuppler said he believes the set will sell for over $8 million.
“I’ve never been able to offer a collection of this quality,” he said.
The $20 coin piece, known as the Double Eagle, features a torch-wielding Lady Liberty on the observe and an eagle flying on the reverse.
The earliest versions of the coin don’t feature the motto “In God We Trust,” but Congress eventually required the phrase.
And the very first iterations of the coins were struck in ultra-high relief, which proved problematic for producing and stacking the coins. Subsequent versions are much flatter.
Saint-Gaudens grew up in New York and spent time in Europe, but he also kept a home and studio in Cornish. His New Hampshire estate now is maintained by the National Park Service, and his home and gardens are open to the public. Saint-Gaudens also started the Cornish Colony, an art colony that drew dozens of actors, artists, and intellectuals to the area between the 1890s and World War I.
The artist was primarily known for his classical sculptures, including several Civil War monuments.