| Show real artistic merit in american gold coin coinage aklu the first gold coins issued by the infant united states giltis writes keene in the boston transcript came in 1795 from the philadelphia mint still our leading one there were eagle and half engles eagles 10 and 5 double eagles are the highest the government has ever gone except when we celebrated the pan arna ama pacific exposition with a 50 piece the ones minted until just now were from quarter eagles to doubles but we have minted dollars 3 and 4 very rare we started right in with the head of liberty and an eagle in the beginning she was a rather countrified looking lass and the eagle was a bit scrawny but he soon swelled out to heraldic size and the lady took on more poise they changed very little in the next years it was the days of the forty biners that brought in the novelties tiring ot of kold gold dust exchange individuals in san francisco denver salt lake city and other centers melted up the gold dust with enough alloy to keep it together and put out gold coins some of these were very fine copies of the government issues distinguishable gui gul only by the name of the issuer so small that sometimes it fitted in Li bertys coronet others were frankly original such as one of the 50 slugs of 1851 issued by augustus humbert in california it Is eight sided and easily dented because of its considerable weight you hold it a as s you should hold all rare coins gingerly in thumb and linger finger by the edge by 1907 we were getting artistic and that year the beautiful double eagle of augustus saint gaudens was minted along with new designs for the he three other gold pieces As first struck the saint gaudens was in quite high relief because the face was distinctly concave it has a fall length liberty striding forward and an eagle in full fall night flight but it nearly raised the roof says mr pond secretary of the boston numismatic society because it left off in god we trust this had been on since civil war days when a clergyman wrote to the tha secretary of the treasury calling his bis attention to the fact that recognition of our dependence upon almighty god has been overlooked on our currency it came out first na as god our trust Gau dons coin had to be flattened out after the first issue because it stack up well but the design has bas been used ever since with in god we trust put back almost immediately we are the only large nation cation today that uses any religious reference on its coins but in early times the french used blessed be the name of the lord in latin and later in french god oil protect france |
