Heritage to Offer the Most Important and Desirable Saint-Gaudens Eagle in Existence!

1920-S $10 MS67 PCGS to be Auctioned in Charlotte

Dallas, TX: "Every now and again, Heritage is able to offer an exceptional rarity," said Greg Rohan, President of Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, "a numismatic treasure virtually beyond compare. Such is the case with the 1920-S eagle from the collection of Dr. Steven Duckor."

"We were very fortunate to have David Akers, known throughout numismatic circles as the ultimate authority on American gold coins, write the catalog description for this stunning specimen," said Rohan, "and I could do no better than to quote directly from him. In describing this coin, Akers, says: 'This is an astonishingly beautiful and superb example of this famous 20th century rarity. It is the highest graded specimen by both PCGS and NGC, and the only 1920-S graded MS67. "Finest Known" is a term that is perhaps used too often by enthusiastic catalogers when describing a particularly notable example of a rare issue, but that accolade can be applied without hesitation or dispute to the 1920-S eagle offered here.'"

Rohan continued, "Akers goes on to describe the coin as follows: 'The coin is boldly struck on the obverse with LIBERTY sharp and full, including the last three letters RTY which are often weak or even missing on many examples of this issue. The hair curls around the face are also complete and sharply defined, something rarely, if ever, encountered on a 1920-S eagle. The numerals 19 in the date are slightly weak, as usual. The reverse is also generally well struck except on the eagle's trailing leg feathers, talons, and the arrows below. Weakness in this area is characteristic of every example of this issue that we have seen, but even here the strike is well above average. Overall, this coin is quite different in appearance from virtually every other known 1920-S eagle since it has an almost medallic look with sharp, squared edges and broad, flat inner borders. In addition to its unusually sharp striking qualities, the things that are most impressive about this particular coin are its originality, color, luster, and overall eye appeal. The color is a rich, deep orange-gold and the nearly flawless, mark-free frosty surfaces have a radiant luster that sets this coin above and apart from virtually any other known Indian Head eagle, regardless of date. In our opinion, this is the most important and desirable Saint-Gaudens eagle in existence. The interest and subsequent bidding on this lot will almost certainly justify that claim with a new record price for the issue as well as the series. However, remember that when Dr. Steven Duckor purchased this coin for $85,000 at auction in 1979 he also paid a record price, an amount that was widely considered to be excessive for the time. But that is what it almost always takes to buy a coin like this, and yet no matter what the winning bid is today, it will ultimately prove to be a bargain since, once this coin is sold, the same amount of money (or possibly much more) could not buy its equal.'"

Rohan added, "In discussing the history of the 1920-S eagle, Akers had this to say: 'Since at least the 1930s, the 1920-S eagle has been known and appreciated as rare and, by the time of the publication of the first edition of the Red Book in 1947, the 1920-S was already considered tied with the 1930-S for the position of third rarest issue of the series after the 1907 Rolled Rim and 1933. It is intriguing to note that after 60 years, the top four population rarities of the series have remained constant, although the 1920-S is now recognized to be clearly rarer than the 1930-S in all grades. The mintage of 126,500 pieces, although relatively low, barely places the 1920-S in the top ten lowest mintage regular issues of the series, but its survival rate obviously has been extremely low. At the present time, fewer than 100 pieces of this issue have been certified in all grades by PCGS and NGC combined, split almost evenly between circulated examples and Mint State ones. Most circulated examples are at the high end of the scale, AU55 to 58, while most of the Uncirculated ones are at the low end of the Mint State scale, MS60 to 63. Allowing for an unknown but presumably small number of examples that exist but have not been certified, as well as duplication among those that have already been graded, a reasonable estimate of the total number of examples of this issue in existence would be in the range of 125-150 pieces at most, and that estimate actually may be high. In terms of overall population rarity, this estimate places the 1920-S third behind the 1933 and 1907 Rolled Rim, of which fewer than 50 examples of each issue are known. However, in addition to its significant rarity in terms of the total number of examples known (the "population rarity") the 1920-S is also the quintessential example of what is commonly called a "condition rarity." In fact, it is the premier condition rarity in the entire Indian Head eagle series with fewer examples known and graded MS63 and higher, than any other issue in the series.'"

"The opportunity to bid on this exceptional piece is one that no serious numismatist will want to pass up," Rohan said, "and I'd invite anyone with an interest in the history of American coinage to visit our website at HA.com to find out more about this exciting auction, and even place their bids online."

Heritage Auction Galleries will present the 1920-S $10 MS67 PCGS in their upcoming Signature Auction, on March 15-17, 2007, as the official auctioneer of the American Numismatics Association's National Money Show, to be held at the Charlotte Convention Center, 501 South College Street, Charlotte, North Carolina, 28202.

1920-S $10 MS67 PCGS

Images, descriptions, and prices realized from all of Heritage's previous auctions are available in the Permanent Auction Archives at the Heritage website, www.HA.com.

To access the Heritage Press Release Archive, please visit www.HA.com/Coins/common/info/press.

To reserve your copy of a catalog for any upcoming Heritage auction, please contact Nicole Jewell, c/o Heritage Auction Galleries, 3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor, Dallas, TX 75219, or call 1-800-872-6467, ext. 272.