Volume written by Roger Burdette and edited by Heritage Auctions experts breaks down history of popular collectible coin
The definitive resource on the history of one of the world’s most popular collector coins, Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles as Illustrated by the Phillip H. Morse and Steven Duckor Collections, written by Roger Burdette and edited by Heritage Auctions Co-Chairman Jim Halperin and U.S. Coins Chief Cataloger Mark Van Winkle, is now available through the firm’s website, HA.com. Widely accepted as the most detailed resource ever compiled about these popular coins, the book covers every die variety available to Burdette, a multiple winner of the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG) Book of the Year Award.
“The amount of research and expertise that went into this book is extraordinary, and is the reason this is as complete a resource as there is about Saint-Gaudens double eagles,” Halperin said. “Roger Burdette and the Heritage Auctions staff who worked on it are unquestioned authorities on the coin and its history, making this a must-have resource for these coins.”
Each issue details the estimated number of examples available to collectors, starting with the mintage. That total is pared down based on the number known to have been destroyed by the Annual Assay Commission, how many are believed to have been shipped overseas and how many are estimated to have been melted after 1933. In the cases when it is available, the delivery schedule also is included. Also included are coin details like the number of dies used to strike each issue, date and monogram placement, and mintmark placement. Each issue includes an extensive commentary section, as well as a list of exceptional specimens.
One exceptional resource in the book is the collection of multi-page sections that cover specific groups of coins. Among the groups studied are double eagle shipments between the U.S. and Europe as well as Central and South America, 1906-1907 patterns, the gold standard (1907-1913), the controversial status of proof 1907 High Reliefs, World War I and gold exchange suspension (1914-1919), post-war production (1920-1929), America’s last circulating gold coins (1930-1933), and the manufacture of proof Saint-Gaudens 20s. There also is an in-depth comparison of the die characteristics of the two 1933 20s in the Smithsonian and the 10 Langbord coins currently in Fort Knox. The 648-page book sells for $95 on HA.com.
