My first Double Eagle! :)

Yeah it’s a common date in low MS condition but I don’t care because it’s a Double Eagle and it’s all mine! ^_^

 

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Yeah for sure! They have some crazy stuff!

I took some pics in awe. Lol!

Look at all these CC error coins.

 

I wonder if you have to buy both halves as a set or if you can just get one half...

 

Nice coin, actually better than many MS64 coins.

JMHO

 

Nah the coins in that case aren’t even for sale xD

 

I am super envious! I have always wanted a double eagle, or even an Indian Head Eagle. Looks wonderful! Enjoy your newest acquisition.

 

Congrats, Gam3r !! Lovely coin...and an OGH (Old Green Holder) to boot !

Welcome to the addictive world of Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles, where the only victim is your bank account.

 

Some readings on the 1927 Saint DE from our friends at Heritage with comments and other facts from David Akers and Roger Burdette:

"...There are two prime criteria of type coins, those issues that are widely collected by nonspecialists as examples of their series (or "type"). The first is wide availability. A type coin should be among the most widely available issues in the series, or else it would command a premium compared to other dates. Note that the emphasis is on availability as opposed to a high mintage; the 1927-S double eagle has a higher mintage than the 1927 from Philadelphia, yet the 1927 is far more available today and is collected as a type coin, whereas the 1927-S twenty is a rarity with a five-figure price floor. The second prime criterion is attractiveness, or the production qualities of an issue as a whole. The ideal type coin has above-average striking definition as well as pleasing luster. Often a range of dates will be found ideal for a certain series; among proof Morgan dollars, for instance, the coins from 1896 to 1898 often draw high praise.

How well does the 1927 double eagle match the first criterion, that of availability? In a word, magnificently. Between NGC and PCGS, well over a quarter-million examples have been certified, a testament to the coin's current availability. Such was not always the case, though, as the vast majority of the known 1927 double eagles once were locked away in overseas storage, and repatriation from Europe is the greatest known source of the coins. An examination of pre-1960 auction listings is instructive; the earliest auction record in the David Akers United States Gold Coins reference, the 1941 Dunham Collection sold by B. Max Mehl, is listed in the catalog as "very scarce," and Stack's used an identical phrase to describe the issue in 1944 for the J.F. Bell auction catalog. The impact of 1960s repatriation is especially noticeable in the auction records compiled by Akers: The trickle of auction appearances in the 1940s and 1950s, fewer than one a year for each decade, turns into a steady stream through the 1960s and then a torrent in the 1970s.

As for the second criterion, attractiveness, the 1927 once again comes out a winner. In Heritage's offering of another great collection of Saint-Gaudens twenties, the Phillip H. Morse Collection of Saint-Gaudens Coinage, the cataloger wrote that "examples of the 1927 double eagle are invariably sharply struck, with bright mint frost or smooth satiny surfaces." The two luster qualities are prized, each in their own way, while the sharpness of strike meets more universal acclaim.'"

And from the FUN 2020 auction I attended when they auctioned off a top-pop 1927 MS-67+:

"...The year 1927 was one of high production for double eagles, with nearly 3 million pieces minted. Gold exports were also substantial this year, and through this avenue a significant number of 1927 coins survived the domestic gold recall and melts of the mid-1930s. The 1927 double eagle is one of the most plentiful dates in the series overall today, but only in grades through MS66. The PCGS Population Report records a drop from more than 6,600 coins in MS66 to just 27 pieces in MS67 (three of which are MS67+); a single MS68 coin is finer (9/19). Auction appearances of Superb Gems are comparably scarce, and we have previously handled only one Plus-graded coin -- an earlier appearance of this same example -- in the January 2016 FUN Signature. It is clearly among the finest-known 1927 double eagles, right on par with the overarching tone of the Rollo Fox Collection as a whole. Dazzling cartwheel luster engulfs bold design elements, while leaving each side devoid of abrasions. Bright wheat-gold margins surround orange-gold interiors, adding increased depth to the incredible eye appeal. Population: 27 in 67 (3 in 67+), 1 finer (9/19)."

 

Congrats on another nice addition. You're on a roll!

 

Congrats! You now have one more than me....

 

Congratulations on your double eagle!

A 1927 double eagle was my first gold coin too, back in 1964:


United States $20

 

So the reason so many American gold coins survived Roosevelt’s melting order is because they were in European bank vaults?

That’s crazy. Thank goodness Roosevelt didn’t get to melt it all.

 

I bet way back in 1964 one of these could be had for like $40-$50. XD

The dollar was so much stronger back then. My dad was a kid in the late 60s and early 70s and he said for $1 he could have an awesome weekend as a kid.

Whereas today $1 wouldn’t even buy a pack of gum.

 

Not "so many"....virtually ALL of the coins that survive to this day -- 3.7 million at last count -- probably came from overseas, either Europe or South/Central America.

That's one of the most fascinating things about collecting Double Eagles and Saints: the fact that they largely survive because they were used in balance-of-payments transfers and were not in American vaults from 1933-37 and thus escaped melting.

What's more, the place where coins were likely to be shipped to Europe was from New York and Philadelphia (East Coast, closer to Europe). So the 1927 (Philly struck) was sent overseas and is plentiful to this day in grades up to MS-65....but the 1927-D (Denver) and 1927-S (San Francisco) were not used in trade largely and stayed in the vaults and got melted down 10 years later....which is why they are super-rarities.

Hoards and overseas survivorship track perfectly.

 

In circulated grade, yeah. Mint State or what was then Choice or Gem Uncirculated...probably 60-$70.

I have the 1970 Red Book.....in Very Fine (probably XF45-AU53) the common Saints were mostly $85; Extremely Fine (AU-55 or 58) probably $95. Uncirculated @ $110. So you could probably get a pristine, MS-66 or MS-67 for maybe $150 or so which was over 4x the price of gold.

 

I think MS-67 would be more than $150 due solely to the fact it would be one of the finest known. If I recall there is 1 of them in 67+ and a few in 67.

Like today even though an MS62 1927 St. Gaudens is ~$2.3K an MS67 one sold for like $40,000+ on Heritage Auctions which is WAY more.

I bet it’s because of registry sets. Everyone who does those wants the best example of every coin they can get.

 

Not the most comely gal ('62) but she is my first, and she does suite me.



Now all I need is a St. Gaudy like Gam and life shall be complete..........

 

Those are really cool. But the odds both halfs leave the mint together and stay together for so many years...

 

Yeah, but remember this was before grading services. So if you had something that was "Superb Gem" it would sell at a rich premium to the price for a Gem coin.

And if you had a well-known specimen that everyone knew was the finest or one of the finest among dozens or hundreds or thousands....yeah, you could probably get a 200-500% premium to the listed price.

Yup, but lots more collectors today than 50-60 years ago and greater information flow.

Logical, as Mr. Spock would say.

If you get the Roger Burdette Saints Book, he has a price grid for nearly every Saint-Gaudens coin from 1976-2015.