I seen a 1933 St.Gaudens High Relief my question is what does high relief stand for does any body know ?
relief (as it pertains to coins) - the projection of the raised devices above a coin's fields High Relief, as the name implies, is when the devices project higher than normal above the fields. In some instances, the devices on a High Relief coin may project above the rims making the coins difficult to stack. Some early (1907 & 1908) St. Gaudens were minted in High Relief and Ultra High Relief (as St. Gaudens intended). It was very difficult for the Mint to get High Relief Saints to fully strike up so they lowered the relief on the coins for the remainder of the series. The "coin" you saw is most likely a replica. No High Relief 1933 Saints were minted. And only one 1933 Saint is legal to own because ownership of gold was outlawed after some '33 Saints were minted. Most of the '33 Saints were melted but somehow a few escaped the melting pot. One of those is legal to own (it's a long story); 10 others have been impounded by the Feds awaiting a determination of whether they are legal to be owned.
I think I have a coin like this (1917 D Obverse Half Dollar), does the high relief make it worth any more?
Hollywood, I am with Hobo on this one. In 1933 no High Relief St. Gaudens were minted. Unless this is a counterfeit or replica you would not have seen it. Although it may not have been High Relief and you are one of the very selected few
Speaking of coincidence, I just came across this link while reviewing my updates. This is very informative link regarding the 1933 St. Guadens. http://coins.about.com/od/famousrarecoinprofiles/p/1933_Gold_Eagle.htm
It's an entire book ! Mystery and intrigue... "Double Eagle: The Epic Story of the World's Most Valuable Coin" http://www.amazon.com/Double-Eagle-...bs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219853069&sr=8-2
More mystery and intrigue... "Illegal Tender: Gold, Greed, and the Mystery of the Lost 1933 Double Eagle" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0743245741/
There have been a number of threads about this over the years. Here's a good one... http://www.cointalk.org/showthread.php?t=19480&highlight=1933&page=3
High Relief The high relief i think was a st.gaudens dont know what year exactly,what old gold coins were produced in high relief ?
Besides the St Gaudens '07 & "08 coins , I think the 1921 Peace Dollar was minted in high relief , but not as high as the St. Gaudens . rzage
