The 20 dollar Gold Piece, or Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle Gold Coin is highly regarded to be one of the finest coins in American Coin history. Although the Indian Head $2.50 and $5.00 pieces, (Indian Head quarter and Half Eagles) are smaller United States gold coins minted in the same period, they are often regarded as more innovative and daring than the 20 dollar gold piece, and are regarded as even more controversial.

In the early 20th century, these four gold United States Coins had been circulated with out any design changes for over fifty years, with three of the coins having identical designs of Lady Liberty for over 60 years. With the average American life expectancy of less than fifty years, it was clearly time for a change.

In 1901 Theodore Roosevelt succeeded to become President upon the assassination of William McKinley. With Roosevelt being a well known proprietor of change, he took personal interest in leaving his mark on the majority of United States coinage.

Debuting in 1907, Roosevelt received high marks for employing Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the famed sculptor, to redesign the double eagle and eagle (or $10 gold piece). With rave reviews of the new designs, Roosevelt was clearly a fresh eye for beauty in US mint.

Because their designs and lettering are sunken in a plane that is uniformly flat, the Indian Head quarter eagle and the half eagle stand apart from other United States coinage. With the highest points of relief being level with the coins' fields, they have no raised rims to protect them from wear. The only element of these coins to exceed the level of their fields are, just slightly, their mint marks.

The concept for these coins originated from William Sturgis Bigelow, a Boston physician and art lover, and close friend of Roosevelt. Bigelow's interest in new coinage designs had been stimulated by Egyptian reliefs in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He and Roosevelt thought employing these techniques was a novel idea and a worthy concept for fresh ideas in US mint. While there was no modern precedent for the use of these techniques, it was exactly the change Roosevelt was seeking.

Sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt was another prominent Bostonian, and was assigned designer for many new coins at this time. While Saint-Gaudens created different designs for the double eagle and eagle, Pratt conceptualized identical portraits for both of the smaller coins, which was accepted because of their beauty, dignity and strength.

The obverse depicts an Indian clad in a war bonnet, with thirteen stars, the date, and the motto LIBERTY forming a circle around the center. With astute placement and sizing, Pratt successfully incorporated four inscriptions on the reverse, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, IN GOD WE TRUST and the statement of value. The reverse has an eagle on fasces and an olive branch, the symbols of preparedness and peace.

In 1908 the coin was received with mixed reviews. While the artistic aspects of the design's were appreciated, many immediately disagreed with the eagle and Indian head designs. Most people believed neither the eagle nor the Indian were justly represented, and in addition, the coin's lacked the ability to stack properly.

in addition, the design elements, being unfamiliar, stirred much criticism. Philadelphia coin dealer Samuel H. Chapman made many comments, finding it particularly objectionable. He questioned President Roosevelt about the "sunken design". Chapman felt it would lead to many problems, some of which were its ease of counterfeit and even its ability to spread illness (he argued that the recessed areas would become laden with dirt and spread disease). However Roosevelt remained steadfast in his support for the coins.

Issued annually form 1908 through 1929, the Indian Head half eagles series ended in 1929 as a result of that year's Wall Street crash. As the depression continued under way, what little gold came into the Mint was used for production of double eagles. With the cessation of gold coinage and the great recall of 1934, the half eagle would cease to return.

The design elements on Indian Head half eagles are protected from excessive wear, being recessed. While this is a superb design aspect, this complicates the grading of these coins, as the patterns of normal wear are remarkably different from those of raised-relief coins. The most critical areas for detecting wear are at the shoulder of the eagle's left wing and at the Indian's cheekbone and headdress feathers. Keep note that counterfeits of many dates exist, and some are very deceiving. Any questionable piece should be immediately authenticated by a professional.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Akers, David W., A Handbook of 20th-Century United States Gold Coins 1907-1933,Bowers & Merena Galleries, Wolfeboro, NH, 1988. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing Co. Inc., New York, 1966. Yeoman, R.S., A Guide Book of United States Coins, 47th Edition, Western Publishing Co., Racine, WI, 1993.