Beauty and the Beast - U.S. Gold Coins

The most beautiful U.S. gold coin

Most coin collectors consider the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle ($20 gold) as the most beautiful of United States coins. Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder and my eye sees this differently.

I have owned Saint-Gaudens double eagles. Not the rare high relief proof and not even proofs; mine were common date uncirculated coins.

This was long before the days when coins like this are only seen encased and bearing testaments to their grade and pedigree. I held these coins in my hands, knew their true weight and heft, felt the coolness of the gold, and admired their luster unimpeded by plastic. The Saint-Gaudens is indeed a thing of beauty, but to my eye it is not the epitome.

My choice for most beautiful

For me, the 1795-1797 Draped Bust $5 and $10 gold coins are the most beautiful. The simplicity of the design and the use of blank space seems perfect to me. It retains its beauty even when worn, something which the St. Gaudens can only manage on its reverse. Because the standing Liberty faces front, her poor nose starts to flatten with only the slightest wear and eventually her whole face becomes a ghastly mask as it wears away.

For second place, I am torn. I really like the reverse of the 1849-1853 gold dollar.

Like the 1795 five dollar, this issue is simple. The reverse says everything that needs to be said and it says it beautifully.

The obverse of the dollar is attractive enough, but it can't really compete with the St. Gaudens obverse. The St, Gaudens reverse is powerful, but it isn't as good as that gold dollar.

Worse, most double eagles have "In God We Trust" lining the sun. That is forced and out place - the coin would be better without that.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens certainly would have agreed - his design and the coins of 1907 and part of 1908 did not have that motto. It was added after his death in 1907.

So, if we consider only the "No motto" coins, I would give second place to them for overall appearance, front and back. If we are using the coins with the motto, I'd put the famous double eagle in third place.

So, my final list goes like this:

• First place: $5 gold of 1795-1797
• Second: Saint-Gaudens "No Motto"
• Third: 1849-1853 gold dollar for its reverse tied with the "Motto" version of the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle.

Note that I don't even consider the modern bullion double eagles. They do have the St Gaudens obverse, but the cluttered reverse removes any chance they might have had.

The Ugly

Now let's move to the ugly.

There is no question in my mind that the incused designs of 1908-1929 for $2.50 and $5.00 gold are the least attractive gold coins overall. They are unattractive even as proofs and get really ugly when worn. It is not just the unusual incised design; it would be just as ugly if raised like all other U.S. coins.

The reverse design was a natural place for dirt to hide too. As well, as being ugly, these coins may also have been less sanitary than traditional raised designs.

The public did raise these objections, but Congress and the Mint ignored them. There apparently was little demand for any of these as there were many years with no mintage at all.

I therefore do not hesitate to award these coins the award for ugliest U.S. gold coins.

However, the $10.00 Eagle of 1907-1933 does comes close. The reverse is attractive, but the open mouthed Indian on the front seems odd enough in higher grades but gets even more strange as the coins wear.

The opposite is true for the Liberty Head $20 that preceded the Saint-Gaudens from 1850 to 1997. The obverse is acceptable, but the incredibly busy reverse is an assault on my eyes and again only gets worse with wear.

My final list is:

• $2.50 and $5.00 incused Indian for ugliest.
• $10.00 Eagle of 1907-1933 in second place.
• Liberty Head $20 as a close third.

Of course these are just my personal opinions. I have no qualifications as an art critic and I lack the talent to design anything like even the worst of these.