1907 Ultra High Relief $20 Inverted Edge Letters, “ASG” on Edge | PR68 by both NGC and PCGS

This amazing coin is the result of the collaboration of President Theodore Roosevelt and famed American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to begin the process of redesigning America’s coinage.

The president’s intention to redesign American coinage was first expressed in writing six weeks after his election in a December 27, 1904 letter from Roosevelt to Secretary Treasury Leslie Mortier Shaw: “I think our coinage is artistically of atrocious hideousness. Would it be possible to employ a man like Saint-Gaudens to give us a coinage that would have some beauty?”

Roosevelt believed that ancient Greek coinage, with its high relief designs was superior to the then-current coinage of the United States, an opinion Saint-Gaudens shared. This began a partnership in which Roosevelt used his presidential power to clear the way for Saint-Gaudens to create arguably the most beautiful American coin ever struck despite opposition from the United States Mint and despite the need for seven strikes to fully bring out the design.

This coin was not actually owned by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, but was given to his wife, Augusta, in 1908, after his death. Augusta most likely had the initials “ASG” engraved on its edge in order to positively identify the coin. [Coin images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.]