1907 High Relief, Flat Edge

Saint-Gaudens died in August 1907 without seeing his design released for commerce, and the Philadelphia Mint struck the first circulating examples that December using the original high-relief dies with the date rendered as MCMVII. The Flat Edge rim represents the production refinement to this initial run. The earliest strikings produced a thin, knife-like fin of metal around the periphery, known as the Wire Edge, where gold was pushed up into the gap between die and collar. To address this, Mint personnel adjusted the collar to produce a broader, squared rim more practical for stacking and commerce. The combined 1907 High Relief mintage across both rim types stands at 12,367 coins, and Flat Edge examples outnumber Wire Edge survivors by a substantial margin. Each piece required approximately five blows of the press, a pace incompatible with normal production, and Chief Engraver Charles Barber subsequently re-engraved the design at lower relief for the regular-production coins that followed.

The rim distinction is the first authentication point for any 1907 High Relief. Flat Edge examples show a flat, evenly finished perimeter; Wire Edge examples show a visible raised ridge. Because the design carries heavy sculptural depth, luster break and high-point wear concentrate on Liberty's breast, the forward knee, and the eagle's breast feathers on the reverse. Counterfeits are a documented problem with this issue: both period cast copies and modern struck replicas from overseas sources circulate, and the coin's high unit value makes the exposure material. PCGS and NGC certification is the standard acquisition path, and a slabbed example also resolves the rim-type attribution, which can be ambiguous on worn coins. David Akers called the High Relief the finest circulating design the United States ever produced, and collectors generally treat an honest About Uncirculated example as the minimum acceptable grade for display purposes.

The Flat Edge is the more accessible of the two 1907 High Relief varieties and the version most type collectors pursue when building a four-coin set of the Saint-Gaudens design. Demand has been constant since the 1930s and shows no cyclical weakness; even common-grade Mint State examples trade within a narrow band of bullion plus a substantial numismatic premium. The coin functions as a type coin, a series key, and a standalone artistic artifact at once, and price discovery reflects all three forces rather than mintage alone. Raw acquisition is rarely advisable given the counterfeit exposure and the rim-attribution question; the established path is a PCGS or NGC piece, with CAC sticker approval where available. For the wider context of how this coin fits into the 26-year production run and the lower-relief work that followed, see the St. Gaudens Gold $20 Double Eagles history article.