The double eagle was not among the first coins authorized by the Mint Act of 1792. In fact, the denomination was not introduced until over a half century later, in 1849. The coin’s production coincided with the beginning of the California Gold Rush. In the first year of minting, the Mint restricted production to proof coins, of which only two copies are known to exist. The next year, 1850, the Mint began striking coins for regular circulation.

The first coins produced were comprised of 90% gold and measured 34 millimeters in diameter. The first obverse design employed showed a profile of the Liberty head. The reverse design was one-of-a-kind and depicted an eagle with a shield on its breast. In 1866, the motto “IN GOD WE TRUST” was added to the reverse design. The Liberty Head motif was used until 1907, when a new design by the sculptor Saint-Gaudens was adopted.

Theodore Roosevelt commissioned Saint-Gaudens to redesign all of American coinage, which the President found dull and prosaic. However, Saint-Gaudens’ death from cancer in 1907 left Roosevelt’s dream of new coinage befitting a great nation unrealized. The 1907 double eagle was one of only two coins the sculptor completed. The coin featured a walking Liberty figure holding a torch on its obverse and an eagle in flight on its reverse. Throughout 1907, minters experimented with different degrees of relief, from extremely high to high to regular, helping to explain the many different varies that exist for that year. Interestingly, on the first several types, the dates were written using Roman, rather than Arabic, numerals.

The Saint-Gaudens double eagle is one of the most oft praised pieces in all of US coinage because of the uniqueness of its design and the quality of its aesthetics. It is also among the most prized coins for collectors, frequently fetching top dollar at auction. One of the rarest varieties of this coin known to exist is the one minted in 1933, the last year in which the gold standard was used. The Mint produced enough copies for a regular business issue that year, but after gold as a minting metal was abandoned and its possession decreed illegal, the coins were melted down. Still, several specimens escaped the mint and found their way to collectors. It is presumed that these coins were stolen, and as such, their whereabouts have attained a certain degree of intrigue. Of late, the Secret Service has been enlisted to help retrieve them.