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On March 13, 2008, United States Mint Director Ed Moy announced their plans to recreate what many people consider to be the nation's most beautiful coin ever-Augustus Saint Gaudens' original ultra-high relief Liberty $20 double eagle. The design is to be featured on a collectible 24-karat gold coin intended for sale to the public in 2009. In preparation to mint this coin, the United States Mint will test the development of the second variation of Saint-Gaudens' design, the 27-millimeter, ultra-high relief coin with Roman numerals.
The original design was introduced in 1907 and was minted on a short number of coins. Problems with stacking the coins forced the Mint to change the design to a lower relief during 1907 for the remainder of the series' mintage. The series was retired because of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Gold Confiscation Order of 1933.
Moy said in his announcement of this issue, "We want to spur the highest level of artistic excellence in American coin design. Recreating thousands of Augustus Saint-Gaudens' ultra-high relief Double Eagles will be a defining moment in American coinage."
A much anticipated public appearance of the 2009 ultra-high relief design was at the American Numismatic Association's World's Fair of Money in Baltimore during July, 2008. The United States Mint's booth displayed the development of this modern masterpiece, from its origin as gold bars through test strikes, to the finished, one-ounce 24-karat (.9999 fine) 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin.
