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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GoldFinger1969, post: 10416088, member: 73489&quot;]<b><b><font size="5"><span style="color: #b30000">Saint-Gaudens Hoards By Date: </span></font></b></b>More hoard factoids for the next 3 coins in the series.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="color: #00b359">1909: </span></b> A few hundred pieces found in the early-1980’s by MTB, mostly MS 60-63 and AU’s.&nbsp; Prior to the early-1990&#039;s, when a fairly large hoard of uncirculated examples was discovered in Europe, the 1909 was considered to be a very scarce issue in any grade and a rare one in choice uncirculated condition or better. The hoard changed all that, however, and now the 1909 is strictly a condition rarity.</p><p><br /></p><p>The 1909 Saint-Gaudens double eagle is an issue that has never been fully appreciated as a difficult to locate coin in high mint state grades. This could be due, in part, to the relative availability of lower level uncirculated examples in the MS60 to MS63 range. A small hoard of a few hundred pieces was located by Manfra, Tordella and Brookes in the early 1980’s, and this made lower uncirculated grade coins available. However, choice and gem quality pieces remain very elusive.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="color: #00b359">1909/8:</span></b> Rare up to the 1960’s before Paul Wittlin finds (buyer for James Kelly and then Paramount International Coin Corp) via Paris and Swiss banks.&nbsp; Other hoards found later.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="color: #00b359">1909-D: </span> </b> 1983 MTB El Salvador Hoard; 49,000 coins.&nbsp; 2 bags of 500 coins came back to U.S. from Central America and also from Europe.&nbsp; Another 2 or 3 bags from Europe.&nbsp; MTB and Akers no more info following Hurricane Sandy and Akers&#039; passing.</p><p><br /></p><p>Akers:&nbsp; <i>“When Gerald Bauman of Manfra, Tordella and Brookes called me one day in 1983 to tell me about the incredible hoard of U.S. double eagles they had just acquired from Central America, he said they had large quantities of scarce, beautiful, original high quality Liberty Heads (1901-S, 1902-S, and 1905-S among others), and also a great many incredible quality Saints including such dates as 1909-S, 1910-S, 1911-S, 1914-S, 1915-S, and 1916-S. Obviously, I was impressed and interested in seeing them and purchasing as many as I could. But then Bauman let the hammer drop and said the hoard also included hundreds of seldom, if ever seen, choice uncirculated and even better examples of the 1908-D No Motto, 1908-D With Motto, 1909-D and 1922-S.&nbsp; Needless to say, I could not get to New York City fast enough and it turned out that everything Bauman had said about the coins was absolutely true, perhaps even understated.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>After spending an entire afternoon looking at representative samples of each issue, we discussed the terms under which I could buy the coins I wanted. My greatest interest was in the four rarest issues, including the 1909-D, and Bauman said that I could pick out what I wanted on an individual basis if I were willing to pay a substantial premium price and would take a minimum guaranteed quantity of each issue. After seeing the quality of the coins it was clear this was a reasonable request on Bauman’s part and an easy decision on mine to agree.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>I still rank this as one of my greatest thrills in the coin business, both for myself person-ally and for the many collectors to whom I sold the coins. The 1909-D and 1922-S were the real prizes of the hoard and it is not hyperbole to note that virtually all of the choice, very choice and gem uncirculated examples of both of these issues that are available to collectors today came from the Central American hoard.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Before discovery of this hoard in 1983, the 1909-D was considered rarer than either 1908-S, or 1913-S.&nbsp; </b>Most of the several hundred hoard pieces were in lower uncirculated grades and had likely originated in Europe. David Akers commented,</p><p><br /></p><p><i>The 1909-D has the fourth lowest mintage of the Saint-Gaudens series after the 1907 High Relief, 1908-S and 1913-S. It is actually much more rare than the High Relief or 1913-S, however, and is virtually identical in both overall rarity and condition rarity to the 1908-S. Of the fifty-five Saint-Gaudens issues, I rank the 1909-D as the 16th rarest. The 1909-D is usually found in EF or AU condition and average quality uncirculated pieces are very scarce. Choice or gem quality coins are rare and most collectors looking for a gem 1909-D have been disappointed because there just aren’t that many around.</i>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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