Saint-Gaudens double eagle

Liberty stepping forward with torch and olive branch held up, radiant light behind her. The date is in Roman numerals, MCMVII — 1907. It is the high-relief version of the twenty-dollar gold coin, the double eagle, which carries the name of Saint-Gaudens. The back is an eagle flying above the sun's light. It is the summit of brilliance of the age in which the Gold Standard Act of 1900 tied the dollar to gold alone. But in 1933 Executive Order 6102 forbade citizens as a rule to hold gold coin and bullion, and ordered it handed in at the official price. Gold changed from the money of citizens into the reserve of the government. A gold coin that tells in one piece both the summit of beauty and the twilight of the age of gold.