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Message:: [QUOTE="Hobo, post: 419188, member: 11521"]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.[/QUOTE]