The History of the American Eagle Coin
The existence of the American Eagle Coin can actually be traced all the way back to the great California Gold Rush of 1848 and the discovery of gold at the still famous Sutter's Mill.
A large majority of the gold from Sutter's Mill ultimately found its way to the United States Mint in Philadelphia, where it was issued into larger denominations instead of the traditional $10 gold pieces. Congress authorized the issue of the $20 gold coins in February of 1849, which were designed by an extremely creative James Barton Longacre.
The first of two trial patterns was struck on March 12, 1850, but it still carries the date of 1849. Originally there were two patterns designed, but the second pattern has never been found. They have been given the nickname of "double eagles" due to the fact that $10 coin is called an "eagle" and were issued between the years of 1850 and 1907.
President Theodore Roosevelt together with sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens joined efforts to redesign the $10 and $20 "eagles" by bringing some ancient Greek beauty to the coins. On December 22, 1907 the work on the new $20 "double eagle" began featuring an advanced figure of "Lady Liberty" on the obverse and a flying bald eagle on the reverse. The new design required a much longer striking process so that there were few of released in December of 1907. Soon new dies were created to increase the circulation of these amazing coins from 1907 to 1933.
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