1909 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (, includes 1909/8)
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 161,282 made
- Mintage
- 161,282
- Metal
- 90% gold, 10% copper
- Weight
- 33.436 g
- Diameter
- 34 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1909 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (, includes 1909/8) worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1909 is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1909 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (, includes 1909/8) rare?
- Yes. Only 161,282 were made, 11th lowest of the 52 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1909 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (, includes 1909/8) real gold?
- No, it's gold: 0.9675 troy ounces of pure gold.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1909 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle?
- On the obverse, above the date. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1909 are scarcer?
- The 1907 (High Relief) at 12,367, the 1914 at 95,250, the 1912 at 149,750, plus 1 more. So the 1909 is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1909 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (, includes 1909/8) coins were made?
- 161,282.
What to check on your 1909
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1909 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle Proof (, includes 1909/8) (67 made) is the one to compare with.
- Judge the grade under good light. Look at Liberty's breast and knee and at the eagle's wing feathers. Contact marks in the open fields are common on these heavy coins.
Gold coins are counterfeited more than any other US coins. A genuine 1909 weighs 33.436 g and measures 34 mm. Buy certified examples from a reputable dealer. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1909
Production at Philadelphia fell off a cliff in 1909. Only 161,282 were made, against 4.3 million the year before. That drop is why the 1909 is the one people look for. In 1910 the figure was 482,000.
The other mints made far more that year: 1909-S alone came to 2.8 million, roughly 17 for every 1909. If you're checking a pile of 1909 coins, the mint mark is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1908 (With Motto) (156,258) and the 1913 (168,780).
Across Philadelphia's 24 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle issues, the hardest to find is the 1907 (High Relief) with 12,367 made. The 1909 is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 1900s it's 5th smallest of 10, between the 1908 (With Motto) (156,258) and the 1908-D (With Motto) (349,500).
The 1909/8 and the 48 stars (1909 to 1916)
The 1909/8 overdate came from a 1908 die altered for the new year. Traces of the 8 can be seen within the 9 under a loupe. The 1909-D with 52,500 struck and the 1913-S with 34,000 are the scarce dates of the period. In 1912 two stars were added to the ring on the obverse, raising it from 46 to 48 for New Mexico and Arizona.
San Francisco struck large numbers in some years, including 2,774,925 in 1909 and 1,498,000 in 1914, while Philadelphia mintages stayed between about 95,000 and 482,000. Proofs of these years were made in very small numbers with matte and satin-like finishes. No double eagles were made after the 1916-S until 1920. Branch mint coins of this era are often found with heavy bag marks.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1909
The Lincoln cent replaced the Indian Head cent to mark the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Designer Victor David Brenner's initials V.D.B. on the reverse were removed within days after complaints. The New Orleans Mint struck its last coins that year.
How to recognize it
Liberty strides forward holding a torch and an olive branch, with the Capitol building at her feet and rays of the sun behind her. The reverse shows an eagle in flight above a rising sun. The edge is lettered E PLURIBUS UNUM between stars. The 1907 high relief coins show the date in Roman numerals; later coins use Arabic numerals and lower relief.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (1907–1933) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 161,282 |
| Face value | $20 |
| Composition | 90% gold, 10% copper |
| Weight | 33.436 grams |
| Diameter | 34 mm |
| Edge | Lettered E PLURIBUS UNUM |
| Designer | Augustus Saint-Gaudens |
Other 1909 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (, includes 1909/8) | 161,282 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1909 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle Proof (, includes 1909/8) | 67 | Proof | – |
| 1909-D Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle | 52,500 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1909-S Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle | 2,774,925 | Circulation strike | – |
Mintage: Saint-Gaudens double eagle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.