Are 1930-S Saints Overshadowed?


Saint Gaudens double eagles, $20 coins, are the most popular gold coins. Both in the coin collecting community and in the general news media, Saints get more attention than any other gold coins.

It is the series in general, heavily promoted common dates like the 1924 and 1928, or the rarest dates, that are talked about. Saints dated 1930-S are extremely rare coins, yet never seem to get much media attention. Though not as rare as 1930-S Saints, 1931-D Saints are very rare, and are also ignored by everyone but dedicated collectors.


Indeed, they are both way overshadowed by the rarest dates in the series which make the front pages and are even occasionally seen on television! When the Fenton 1933 Saint was auctioned in New York in 2002, there were more than five hundred people in attendance and television crews were filming. Each sale of a 1927-D also gets extensively covered.

A 1930-S Saint, and also two 1931-D Saints, will be offered on Feb. 16 in the fifth session of Heritage's auction in conjunction with the Long Beach (CA) coin, stamp, and collectible expo.

All three of these coins are authenticated, graded “MS-64,” and encapsulated by the Professional Coin Grading Service, of Newport Beach, CA. Unfortunately, I have not yet seen them.

This 1930-S and one of the two 1931-D Saints are part of the Matt and Susan Brown family collection of business strike Saints. Business strikes are coins that were manufactured by normal or typical methods rather than being specially prepared to 'show off' minting techniques. They still may 'show off' designs.

Though missing the rarest dates, the Brown family has several scarce and rare dates in their collection of mostly choice, uncirculated Saints. Their set is not far from being complete. Though I have not seen their coins, my preliminary impression is that they put time and effort into building an appealing collection.

I did recently see the very attractive plus 1930-S that was in John Kutasi's collection. Kutasi had the fourth “all-time finest” set of business strike Saints in the PCGS set registry. Two or three never registered sets are probably finer.

Two fantastic, never-registered sets are those of Philip Morse and of an anonymous consignor to Stack's March 1991 auction. Heritage sold the Morse collection in November 2005. Both the March 1991 and Morse collections contained the same 1927-D, which was owned by Jay Parrino during several of the years inbetween. It is PCGS graded MS-67, and there is do doubt that it is the finest 1927-D. It sold for nearly $1.9 million at the Morse sale.



The 1927-D is the rarest date in the Saint Gaudens series. Although estimates by some experts tend to run to fifteen or higher, there really is not substantiated evidence that there exist more than eleven 1927-D Saints.

There are more than fifteen ultra high reliefs, dated 1907 in Roman Numerals, and these are the most valuable Saints. The Morse piece brought nearly $3 million, and an unnamed one sold for $1.84 million on Jan. 4.

Ultra high reliefs were manufactured in an incredible manner and are really in a unique category in numismatic history. Ultra high reliefs require a separate article to even begin to explain. Regular high reliefs, too, are an important separate topic, though there are thousands of them. Most collectors who talk about regular high reliefs have no idea that 1930-S and 1931-D Saints are far rarer.

Kutasi's 1930-S Saint and his 1931-D Saint are both PCGS graded MS-66 and were both formerly in the landmark collection of Thaine Price, which was auctioned by David Akers in May 1998. This 1930-S sold for $126,500 then, and the 1931-D realized $79,750.

On Jan. 4, 2007, both realized the exact same price, $230,000. Heritage's second 'Platinum Night' was devoted to gold coins. The auction was held in conjunction with the Florida United Numismatists convention in Orlando.

Though 1930-S Saints are much rarer than 1931-D Saints, why did these two coins realize the same price? One reason might be that the 1931-D is harder find in MS-66 grade. PCGS assigned the 66 grade to three 1931-D Saints, and to five 1930-S Saints. The PCGS has never awarded a MS-67 or higher grade to a Saint of either of these two dates.

A coin's 'date,' like 1930-S, indicates the announced year and the location of the Mint that issued it. The 'S' is for San Francisco and the 'D' is for Denver. The absence of a mintmark usually refers to the main branch in Philadelphia.

The buyer of the Kutasi-Price 1931-D probably knows that 1930-S Saints are rarer. The demand for this 1931-D is partly determined by the aesthetic characteristics of this particular coin.

While the Kutasi-Price 1930-S is certainly very attractive, the Kutasi-Price 1931-D is extremely attractive. It is richly lustrous to an almost unbelievable extent. I will remember it for the rest of my life. Furthermore, while large gold coins almost always have many contact marks, this one has almost none. The ways in which contact marks are distracting, if they are, are important components of the grade of a double eagle ($20 gold). There is an indentation in the upper obverse (front) field, to the observer's right. On the reverse (back), there is a small mark on the eagle's throat. For Saints, these are trivial imperfections.

Saint Gaudens double eagles often have dozens or even hundreds of marks. Many of which may be long, wide or deep!

The reverse of the Kutasi 1931-D, if it could be rated by itself, would certainly warrant a strong MS-67 grade. In addition, it is sharply struck, especially regarding Miss Liberty's breast and knee, the capitol, and the feathers on the eagle. Though is not unusual for a 1931-D to be sharply struck, it is still important, and is another component of a coin's grade. The cataloger does not mention that this same coin was in the Morse collection.

The Kutasi-Price 1930-S is, too, a very desirable coin. It also has almost no contact marks, which, again, is amazing for a Saint. Its reverse is exceptionally brilliant, and has some pretty green overtones. Though it is a very appealing coin, the quality of the luster is not equal to that of the Kutasi 1931-D. Several factors suggest that the Kutasi 1931-D is of higher quality, in a technical sense, within the MS-66 range. Moreover, it is more appealing to the emotions of a connoisseur than the Kutasi 1930-S.

There are certainly a much larger number of MS-64 and MS-65 grade 1931-D Saints than 1930-S Saints of these respective grades. On the whole, the PCGS has certified more than twice as many 1931-D Saints. The NGC has certified more than three times as many. Since both services have graded some of the same coins, often more than once, it is best not to list the details here.

I hypothesize that there are about fifty-five 1930-S Saints in existence. Perhaps forty different ones have been certified, and another fifteen are in museums and old holdings. Sometimes, people inherit such coins without having much understanding of them.

As for 1931-D Saints, I estimate that PCGS and NGC have graded ninety-five different coins and that another twenty-five or more may exist. In the 1980s and 1990s, small groups appeared, rumored to be from South America. A combination of several in old time collections and one to three more small groups could logically add up to twenty-five coins. So, if there are one hundred and twenty 1931-D Saints, the 1930-S could be twice as rare! No one knows for sure.

Near the end of the 'Platinum night' of Jan. 4, Heritage sold another 1931-D, from an unnamed consignor. It is PCGS graded MS-65, and realized $126,500. The Kutasi-Price 1931-D is the finest that I have ever seen.

Dr. Duckor is the holder of the “Number One Finest Set of All Time” in the PCGS registry. His collection lists the Amon Carter 1931-D, also PCGS MS-66. I have never seen it. If there is a third PCGS MS-66, I have no idea where it is.

Though the Kutasi, Morse and Duckor 1930-S Saints are all different coins, where are the other two MS-66 grade pieces? Could either of them be a resubmission of one of the above in an unsuccessful effort to obtain a MS-67 grade?

I believe that the finest 1930-S is the one that Stack's auctioned in March 1991. Has it been graded MS-66? If my memory serves me correctly, it has completely original surfaces, very few marks, and, is just gorgeous!

The 'Dallas Bank' 1930-S is PCGS graded MS-65 and is in the ROF II collection, according to pcgs.com. PCGS associates have examined the Smithsonian's 1930-S and have “estimated” that it grades “MS-68” and is the finest known.

In 2005 and 2006, prices for choice rare date Saints increased to a great extent. It will be interesting to see the prices realized for the 1930-S and 1931-D Saints in the Brown family collection.

Given that there are thousands of buyers who acquire Saint Gaudens $20 gold coins, and tens of thousands of collectors who add Saints to type sets, how many have stopped to think that there might be only fifty-five 1930-S Saints? This date is a quiet rarity!

© 2007 Greg Reynolds