All Love the Design; Some Question the Decision

The U.S. Mint has announced plas to issue a new gold coin—but maybe new isn’t exactly the right word. In 2009 the Mint will release a one-ounce .9999 fine gold coin on a planchet the diameter of the $10 eagle (27 millimeters). It will feature the design of the Ultra High Relief, Roman Numerals, $20 gold coin designed by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1907. The coins are intended as attractive bullion pieces for investment and collecting.

Several Whitman Publishing authors have weighed in with their opinions of this planned coinage. They include:

Michael Moran, numismatic researcher and lecturer; winner of the American Numismatic Association’s ANA’s Heath Literary Award; author of Striking Change: The Great Artistic Collaboration of Theodore Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

Kenneth Bressett, a legend in the hobby community; longtime editor of the Guide Book of United States Coins (popularly known as the “Red Book”), and author of such recent books as the award-winning Money of the Bible and Milestone Coins: A Pageant of the World’s Most Significant and Popular Money.

Q. David Bowers, Whitman’s numismatic director; one of the most famous and respected numismatists of all time; author of most of the books in Whitman’s “Bowers Series” line (including, recently, United States Commemorative Coins, Morgan Silver Dollars, and Lincoln Cents), Obsolete Paper Money, the Expert’s Guide to Collecting and Investing in Rare Coins, and more than 40 other books, many of them award winners and standard references in their fields.

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