Saint-Gaudens High Relief Gold Coin Set Was Scheduled for Sept. 24, CoinWeek Reported

This article is based on a CoinWeek report published on September 6, 2026. The release date (September 24, 2026), pricing and availability described here reflect information as of that date.

According to CoinWeek, the United States Mint was scheduled to release the Best of the Mint 1907 Saint-Gaudens High Relief $20 Gold Coin and Silver Medal Set on September 24, 2026, at 12 noon Eastern Time. The set carries product number 26BM5. It is the fifth and final release in the Mint's Best of the Mint Semiquincentennial series, marking the 250th anniversary of American independence.

Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens

In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt turned to sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Roosevelt wanted American coins to reflect the nation's growing stature, and he personally asked Saint-Gaudens to help transform American gold coinage. Saint-Gaudens answered with a design for the $20 gold coin, or double eagle.

The obverse shows Liberty as a full-length figure striding forward with a torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left. Behind her the sun rises, and the U.S. Capitol appears in the distance. On the reverse, an eagle sweeps across the rays of another rising sun.

Too high to strike

Saint-Gaudens first produced the design in extremely high relief. These Ultra High Relief experimental pieces required repeated blows from a hydraulic press. CoinWeek reports that, according to the Smithsonian, the earliest versions could require nine blows. Fewer than two dozen Ultra High Relief examples were made.

The Mint then reduced the relief. Even so, workers still needed multiple strikes on slower equipment to bring up the design. The Philadelphia Mint produced a limited run of High Relief double eagles before Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber lowered the design further for normal high-speed production.

Saint-Gaudens died of cancer in August 1907 and never saw the completed circulation version. His assistant, Henry Hering, continued the work. By December, Barber's lower-relief version carried an Arabic 1907 date instead of the High Relief coin's Roman MCMVII.

How many 1907 High Relief coins?

CoinWeek notes that there is no single settled mintage figure. The U.S. Mint's fiscal 1908 annual report states that 12,153 High Relief double eagles came from the second model. Later research has produced figures ranging from roughly 12,000 to more than 12,700 pieces, depending on how strikes, melts and other production details are counted.

The 2026 gold coin

The new coin uses Saint-Gaudens' composition. The obverse inscriptions read LIBERTY and MCMVII. A Liberty Bell privy mark containing the numeral "250" connects the coin to the Semiquincentennial. The reverse shows the eagle flying left across the rays of the rising sun, with the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and TWENTY DOLLARS. The edge carries E PLURIBUS UNUM in raised lettering.

The West Point Mint will strike the gold coin, and the specifications list no mint mark. The coin has a $20 denomination and an uncirculated finish, contains 1.000 troy ounce of 99.99% gold, and measures 30.61 mm in diameter.

Not a copy of the 1907 coin

CoinWeek points out that the 2026 coin reproduces the historic design but not the original coin's physical specifications. The original High Relief double eagle contained 90% gold and 10% copper, weighed about 33.4 grams, measured about 34 millimeters and contained roughly 0.9675 troy ounce of pure gold.

In 2009, the Mint digitally recreated Saint-Gaudens' original Ultra High Relief concept in a one-ounce, 24-karat gold coin.

The silver medal

U.S. Mint Artistic Infusion Program artist Jesse Hernandez designed both sides of the companion medal. The obverse shows a new view of Liberty carrying a torch and olive branch, with thirteen stars representing the original colonies and the inscriptions LIBERTY and MMXXVI. On the reverse, the eagle's wings become an American flag as the bird rises above the sun; the inscription reads UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

The medal contains one troy ounce of 99.9% silver, measures 40.60 mm, has a plain edge and carries no denomination. The Philadelphia Mint will produce it.

Mintage and price

The mintage limit is 15,000, and the household order limit is one. As of September 6, the Mint had not yet announced the retail price.

The Best of the Mint series

The Mint first assembled a field of 21 historic U.S. coins from the founding era into the 21st century. After a public survey, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts reviewed the five highest-rated choices, and the Secretary of the Treasury approved the selections. The sets are offered only during 2026.

The series began on June 4 with the 1916 Mercury Dime (a tenth-ounce gold coin, 30,000 limit), followed by the 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter on July 10 (quarter-ounce, 30,000), the 1916 Walking Liberty Half Dollar on August 6 (half-ounce, 30,000) and the 1804 Silver Dollar set on August 27 (one ounce, 15,000). The Saint-Gaudens set is the last.

As of September 6, the Mint's website showed the Mercury Dime set as unavailable, the Standing Liberty Quarter and 1804 Dollar sets as available for ordering, and the Walking Liberty set on backorder.

Source: CoinWeek, "The Coin Roosevelt Demanded Returns: 1907 Saint-Gaudens High Relief Closes Best of the Mint in Gold" (September 6, 2026).