My One Classic Gold - 1914D St. Gaudens - Imaged Finally!

[astrostu]

Finally. I left this coin at my parents' house when I moved to Colorado since it's quite small, valuable, and so easily stealable. Being back home at the moment with my camera, I've finally imaged this coin.

 

I realize that it's not the rarest of the St. Gaudens double eagles, nor the most pretty, but it's the only gold coin that I own that's not a tiny modern bullion or commemorative. Plus, it has sentimental value since my parents gave it to me for my 13th birthday just over 11 years ago.

 

As usual with my images (the few I've actually put up here), I tried to preserve the original color and look of the coin, though the contrast is a little enhanced due to lighting, and it turned out slightly darker (but if I lightened it up, it looked washed out) than in-hand. This is also my first attempt at imaging through plastic, which I found quite annoying. But, I think I got it to the point where if I didn't just mention it (and I omitted the NGC insert), you wouldn't have known.

 

I head back to Colorado on Monday, and I'm trying to decide if this is one of the things that I bring back with me, or if it's one of the few things I leave behind still. I really really want it with me and I can just add it to my renter's insurance, but I don't have a safe or anything and there's no practical reason for me to bring it back. Sigh.

 

Anyway, let me know what you think, especially of the photography/processing.

 

[bsshog40]

That's a real nice St. there Stuart. Nice pic, a little red, but nice. If you're that worried about it being stolen then leave it where it's safe. Me, I'd have to have this bad boy with me!

[lkenefic]

Very Nice!!

[astrostu]

Thanks, guys.

 

[Note that since Bobby's post, I did a bit more editing and got rid of most of the red tint, making it much closer to true-color.]

[Bruceswar]

looks like a nice coin!

[stinkycheese1]

Do whatever feels safe to you. I think it's a great coin . I have one too, but not a 1914. That's one great birthday gift!

[rrantique]

That is a great shot Stuart, and a great coin

[123cents]

Great looking St. Gaudens Stuart. I have a 1914-D but it is only graded MS-62 by NGC. Yours is much nicer.

[construct]

Very nice indeed.

 

My w/motto Saint is a 1924 in a PCGS rattler graded MS-60. It was a gift, too, and has great sentimental value.

[BillJones]

Nice coin!

 

I noted that the background is black. Does that mean that the coin is in one of the early NGC holders that had a black insert. If so, the holder and coin combination is a collectors' item in its own right. The black NGC holders are rarely seen today, and usually the grading was VERY conservative.

[WoodenJefferson]

The NGC label validates the grade, but there are those who do not recognize the balance scale as part of NGC's logo, so perhaps in your description instead of putting:

 

Grade: MS-64

 

You could put:

 

Graded by NGC as MS-64

 

(or something similar to that)

 

Be proud of the fact that this gold coin was graded at that level by a top tier company...and no, it's not being a lemming to do so, just a numismatic fact.

 

Very nice $20 Saint I might add, along with a good image. I think I got a card with a 5 dollar bill in it when I turned 13...I was a happy camper! But GOLD! wow.

[jtryka]

What a terrific coin and great image! The 14-D is one of the unusual D-mints from the teens that actually usually displays very nice luster and good strike (the 10-D and 11-D are both horrible by comparison!). This one also displays a more granular surface characteristic which is common for the issue. Overall a very solid coin from the look of it and a terrific birthday present (I can't even remember my 13th birthday, though I do recall it was during Reagan's first term!).

 

As for keeping it at home or with you, do what makes you best sleep at night. And remember, for renters insurance, they generally won't cover coins anyway unless you add a specific rider on the policy, so that's pretty much a moot point. For me, all my Saints are in a safe deposit box at a bank with limited hours, so I sleep pretty well!

[astrostu]

Thanks for all the compliments, guys! I've updated the picture a bit to add the (by NGC) next to the grade, the "with Motto" next to the type (forgot about that part), and correct the color a tad more (it had a very slight green tinge that I removed).

 

I think I should also note that this image has been shrunk to about 18% of the original size ... you can see every nick in the original 57"-wide image.

 

I'm still trying to decide whether to bring this back. I have another 40 hrs to figure it out.

 

BillJones - No, the slab isn't black. I just think that coins look, in general, nicer on a black background, so that's what I put it over in the post-processing.

 

WodenJefferson - Part of the reason that I got such a nice present was because it was effectively a bar mitzvah present. Since I had never been to temple and so didn't actually go through the whole thing, my parents figured they saved a heck of a lot more than the price of the coin by not having the ridiculous parties that many Jewish children have for their bar/bat mitzvahs. Well, and they're also just nice.

[jtryka]

These often have greenish-gold highlights, so hopefully by adjusting that out you didn't alter the image from the actual appearance of the coin. Still a very impressive coin!

[astrostu]

The actual color of the coin is gold with just a hint of orange, not green(ish). And thanks for the background on the 14 D, jtryka, I didn't know that they were sometimes weakly struck like that, and I was actually a little worried about the mottling of the fields on the obverse.

[physics-fan3.14]

That is a nice coin, it has the classic gold color that is so beautiful.

[SkyMan]

Stuart, that is a very attractive coin! Excellent present from the 'rents.

 

I assume you have a bank account where you currently live. Oftentimes banks will throw in a small safe deposit box as a freebie to people with accounts. See if that is the case with your bank.

[TomB]

The coin appears to have quite beautiful surfaces and you need not apologize for owning so few, after all, many of us (including me) have never owned a double eagle.

[michael]

wow

 

an older late 1990's graded ngc coin and for me

 

from the photo the coin has amazing killer eye appeal again from the photo looks original and also true gem ms 65!!!

 

[MunkyMan95]

AWESOME coin, and an AWESOME birthday present!

 

Bring it home, even if it does have to sit on your desk all day. At least you'd be able to look at it in-hand ALL THE TIME!

[astrostu]

Thanks for all the comments. I gave in and ended up bringing it back to Colorado with me.

[DJCoinz]

Beautiful coin!! Best take some precautions to make sure it doesn't get stolen...you can get a electronic 1.06 cu ft steel safe for $50 on Walmart's website. I have one of these...definitely a good investment.

[PerryHall]

Beautiful coin!! Best take some precautions to make sure it doesn't get stolen...you can get a electronic 1.06 cu ft steel safe for $50 on Walmart's website. I have one of these...definitely a good investment.

Bolt any small safe to the floor or you risk a couple of burgulars carrying away the entire safe..