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Message:: [QUOTE="GoldFinger1969, post: 8265706, member: 73489"]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)." [/QUOTE]

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