United States, 20 Dollars, 1907
Grade Range: 5-12
Resource Type(s): Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
6/11/2009
This is the sixth object in the Roosevelt/Saint-Gaudens object group.
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt asked sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to lead an effort to redesign American coinage. Saint-Gaudens developed a design for what many consider the most beautiful American coin ever conceived. Unfortunately, the coin required multiple strikes to produce, even when its ultra-high relief design was reduced to a lower relief.
Deciding how to modify the coin so it could be produced in large quantities with a single strike in a high speed press was left to the Mint's Chief Engraver, Charles E. Barber...