In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt felt that United States coins are symbols of our Nation’s pride and America’s spirit. By 1905, America had become the most powerful nation in the world, and Roosevelt wanted our coinage to represent America’s pre-eminent position. Roosevelt shared his vision with Saint-Gaudens who eagerly joined his quest to design the finest coinage in the world. Saint-Gaudens was terminally ill with cancer, yet he began his last artistic quest to re-design America’s coinage, beginning with the obverse of the $10 Eagle and $20 both sides of the $20 double eagle. Saint-Gaudens promised Roosevelt, that the coin would be made a “living thing.”
The Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle $20 gold coin is widely thought to be the most beautiful coin in the world. Featuring a full figure Lady Liberty striding forward with an olive branch and a torch in the other hand. On the reverse side is an eagle flying in front of the sun to complement the obverse side. The motto In God We Trust is along the edge of the sun at the bottom.
Please visit the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in Cornish, New Hampshire. The home, gardens, and studios of Augustus Saint-Gaudens are beautifully preserved. One of America’s foremost sculptors, this was his summer residence from 1885 to 1897, his permanent home from 1900 until his death in 1907, and the center of the Cornish Art Colony. And, less than 90-minutes from Pond Mountain Inn.
Much of the abbreviated content was taken from the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Site.
Pond Mountain Inn 