Pre-33 $20 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle

Specifications

Weight

0.9675 oz

Purity

.9

Mint

US Mint

Country

United States

First struck

1907

About the Pre-33 $20 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle

The Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle is the $20 U.S. gold piece designed by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt wanted American coinage to rival the high-relief beauty of ancient Greek coins, and he picked Saint-Gaudens to do it. The coin entered circulation in 1907 and was struck through 1933, when President Franklin Roosevelt's gold recall ended its run.

Each coin contains 0.9675 troy oz of pure gold. Total weight is 33.436 grams at .900 fineness, with the remaining 10% copper for durability. The diameter is 34 mm. On the obverse, Liberty strides forward holding a torch and an olive branch. On the reverse, an eagle flies above a sunrise. Early 1907 high-relief examples are scarcer and command numismatic premiums; the much more common low-relief 1908 through 1933 strikes are what most stackers buy as bullion-grade pre-33 gold.

For a buyer focused on metal content, the Saint-Gaudens is a way to own gold with provenance. You are buying a coin that circulated in the United States before the gold standard ended. Many examples sold today are graded by PCGS or NGC; ungraded "random year" coins typically carry the lowest premium over spot.

Mintages varied by year and mint mark (Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco). A handful of dates and mint marks are genuine rarities worth far more than melt; the bulk of surviving coins are common dates that trade close to their gold content. If you want pure bullion exposure with no historical premium, a modern American Gold Eagle or Buffalo will usually beat a Saint-Gaudens on price per ounce. If you want gold plus a piece of pre-1933 U.S. history, the Saint is the canonical pick.

Liquidity is solid. Most major U.S. bullion dealers carry pre-33 Saints in random-date form and in graded slabs (typically MS-62, MS-63, MS-64, MS-65). When you sell, dealers price these against current spot plus a premium tied to grade and date. Common-date MS-62 and MS-63 coins are the most liquid tier.

A practical note from stacking these for a while: condition matters more than year for most buyers. A clean, original-skin MS-63 from a common year often offers better value than a problem MS-64 of the same date, even at a higher slab grade. Buy the coin, not the holder.

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