1914-S $20 MS65 Certification #41880516, PCGS #9166

Charles Morgan

Within years of its founding in 1854, the San Francisco Mint quickly became the nation's primary producer of the Double Eagle ($20) gold coin. The reason was simple: California was the source of the gold. Even after the conclusion of the California Gold Rush era (roughly 1848 to the 1860s), the state sustained a profitable gold mining industry, though operations shifted from alluvial deposits to large-scale hard-rock mining.

This dominance continued into the era of the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle. Early San Francisco's issues in this series, such as the 1909-S, the 1910-S, and the 1914-S, were struck in numbers significantly higher than their Philadelphia (P) and Denver (D) Mint counterparts.San Francisco's prolific output far surpassed that of the other mints until around 1922, when production concentration gradually shifted eastward.

These high mintages make the early San Francisco coins, like the 1914-S, excellent choices for type coin collectors or as a bullion investment.

Explaining Today's Availability of the 1914-S Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle

The abundance of 1914-S available today is largely attributed to hoards containing thousands of examples that began to surface in the 1960s. Most of these coins had been shipped overseas for international payments before the U.S. government recalled its gold coinage in 1933.

Due to this substantial repatriation, well-preserved 1914-S Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles are abundant and often display an attractive, satiny appearance. Many coins grading Gem or even near Superb Gem are readily available, with PCGS-graded examples most commonly found in the MS63 to MS64 grade range.

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