Introduction
Learning more about Saint-Gaudens double eagles has sparked the bibliophile in me! My ongoing fascination with Saint-Gaudens double eagles (SGDE) started withreading books about the 1933 double eagle. I had the privilege of seeing the 1933 Farouk double eagle specimen at the New-York Historical Society in August2013 (see my "Star of the Show: A 1933 Double Eagle," in The Nebraska Numismatic Association Journal, vol. 57, issue 4 (October/November/December 2013),pp. 16-19, for more details).

Curious to learn more about these fabled coins, I read Selling America's Rarest Coin: The 1933 Double Eagle, David Alexander, 2002; IllegalTender: Gold, Greed and the Mystery of the Lost 1933 Double Eagle, David Tripp, 2004; Double Eagle: The Epic Story of the World's Most ValuableCoin, Alison Frankel, 2006; and Striking Change: The Great Artistic Collaboration of Theodore Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Michael F.Moran, 2007. I also devoured A Handbook of 20th-Century United States Gold Coins: 1907-1933, David W. Akers, 2008; A Guidebook of Double Eagle GoldCoins, Q. David Bowers, 2004; Renaissance of American Coinage: 1905-1908, Roger Burdette, 2006; and Collecting and Investing Strategies forUnited States Gold Coins, Jeff Ambio, 2008.

Possessing a large disk of Saint-Gaudens gold has always been visually appealing to me. I previously had a 1922-S PCGS MS 63 double eagle and a 1910-D NGCMS 64 double eagle in my collection. I traded these double eagles for other coins and hadn't owned a Saint-Gaudens $20 since 2015. To my surprise, I reallymissed owning one! Perhaps owning a gold coin makes me feel special. I also love the design.

Conducting Research
After contemplating the possibilities, I decided to pursue a better date SGDE in a higher grade. My focus narrowed to an examination of 1923-D double eagles:"A choice or gem specimen is usually a treat to behold, the very definition of eye appeal!" (David Bowers, in reference to the 1923-D double eagle, AGuidebook of Double Eagle Gold Coins, p. 266). I discovered that 1923- D double eagles are plentiful, but have a much smaller population compared to commondate SGDE. Here is another reason why I chose this particular coin: "...As most examples (1923-D) are boldly struck and show radiant luster, this date (andmintmark) is often chosen to represent the type if just a single coin is desired." (Jeff Garrett, Description & Analysis for the 1923-D Saint-Gaudensdouble eagle, NGC Coin Explorer).

The next step was to order and read Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles: As Illustrated by the Phillip H. Morse and Steven Duckor Collections, by RogerBurdette, ed. by James L. Halperin and Mark Van Winkle, published by Heritage Auctions in 2018. Despite not having a table of contents or index for quickreference, it was a joy to read! My favorite portions were "Background" about United States International Gold Shipment and the engaging Chapter Six - "Lostand Found - Survival of U.S. Gold Coins." It took Burdette five years to research this masterpiece and another year to write it. (See Wayne Homren's review ofthis volume in The E-Sylum, vol. 21, Number 28, July 15, 2018, for more information). This tome is well worth the money!

I learned "...it is estimated that out of 70,290,930 Saint-Gaudens double eagles manufactured between 1907 and 1933, only 2,966,565 coins, or four percent,survive in all states of preservation." (Burdette, Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles, p. 612). The 1923-D is the last mint marked coin in the Saint-Gaudens$20 series readily available to collectors before surviving populations dwindle and prices escalate. (Burdette, p. 397). The 1923-D saw extensive shipmentoverseas. "Most pieces seemed to have been preserved in foreign holdings, most likely in Argentina or Brazil (accepted as legal tender), where it was commonpractice to leave U.S. gold untouched in its original bags." (Burdette, p. 397).

Making the Purchase
I worked through my old 2007 list of 31 favorite coin dealer websites and other numismatic websites to examine 45 to 50 specimens of 1923-D doubleeagles. After perusing numerous dealer websites on the Certified Coin Exchange, e-bay and other sites, I kept returning to a 1923-D NGC MS 65* Star Designationdouble eagle that I saw on the Northeast Numismatics online inventory. Unfamiliar with the NGC Star notation, I conducted some research. According to the NGCCensus as of March 21, a total of 1,389 SGDE are listed with the Star Designation, which is 0.14% of SGDE graded by NGC.

Tom Caldwell founded Northeast Numismatics in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1964. "Tom is a firm believer that an educated collector is necessary to a strongand sustainable coin market, and has taken great efforts to teach youngsters (and elders) the essentials of coin collecting." (Northeastcoin.com). Providingnumismatic education can help collectors learn more about their collecting interests and encourage others to explore the wonders of our hobby.

I am thrilled to own this beautiful coin! Did it spend decades in Brazil or Argentina? I wanted to keep this 1923-D double eagle next to me forever so Icould admire it at my leisure. Reluctantly, I put it in a bank safe deposit box for safekeeping.

Note: Chris Clements of Northeast Numismatics kindly provided obverse and reverse images of my double eagle to accompany this article. Thanks also toPaul Sandler for fielding my questions about Saint-Gaudens double eagle NGC Star Designation coins.

Tom Caldwell writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEW BOOK: SAINT-GAUDENS DOUBLE EAGLES(https://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n28a03.html)