MELT VALUES / GOLD
$20 Double Eagle — Saint-Gaudens & Liberty (–1933)
Melt value now SNAPSHOT
$4,457
222.9× face value
Designer
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1907); James B. Longacre (Liberty, 1849)
Years struck
1849–1933
Mints
Philadelphia, San Francisco (S), Carson City (CC), New Orleans (O), Denver (D)
Nearly an ounce of gold (0.9675 ozt) — the largest regular-issue US gold coin.
THE STORY
Born of California gold-rush torrents and killed by Executive Order 6102, the double eagle bookends America's gold century. Saint-Gaudens' striding Liberty is routinely called the most beautiful coin ever struck; the Mint spent 1907 fighting to flatten his impossibly high relief enough for commerce. Millions went to European bank vaults before 1933 — those repatriated hoards are why a coin whose siblings were melted by the hundred million can still be bought for a modest premium over its ~$4,460 of gold.
The unique legal 1933 Saint sold for $18.9 million — 4,200 times its melt value. Provenance is everything.
KEY DATES WORTH REAL MONEY
Check these before treating any gold piece as melt.
| 1907 Ultra High Relief | ~20 pieces of Saint-Gaudens' sculptural ideal — among the most valuable US coins |
| 1927-D | Rarest regular-issue Saint — melted into legend |
| 1933 | 445,500 struck, legally unownable except one: sold for $18.9M in 2021, the world-record coin |
Think you have one? Check recent auction records before selling — and read our grading basics first.
SPECIFICATIONS
Grading: where wear shows first
Liberty's breast and knee take the first rub on Saints; on Liberties, the coronet. Common-date XF/AU Saints are the classic 'gold with a story' bullion buy.
Never clean a coin. Ever. Cleaning permanently destroys collector value — dark original toning is worth more than shiny damage.
Counterfeit check
The most-faked large gold coin. 33.436 g, 34 mm, lettered edge on Saints - and for anything scarce, certification is non-negotiable.
Gear that settles it: an electromagnetic verifier, a calibrated scale and calipers — counterfeit basics.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ACTUALLY ASK
Is a $20 gold piece a good way to buy gold?
Common dates carry ~0.9675 ozt (~$4,457 melt) with a modest collector premium - you get pre-1933 history nearly at bullion price. Scarce dates are a different asset class entirely.
Why are 1933 double eagles illegal to own?
The 1933 mintage was never officially released before the gold recall; all but one (sold for $18.9M with government blessing) remain US property. If grandpa's is dated 1933... call a lawyer, not a dealer.
Coin image: Wikimedia Commons — Public domain — Heritage Auctions (image); U.S. Mint (coin).
.jpg){kind=link}