The Wells Fargo Hoard of 1908 Saint-Gaudens

Ian Russell on Sat, Sep 29, 2012 11:41:52 AM

In the early 1990s, nearly 10,000 high-quality 1908 No Motto Saint-Gaudens $20 gold pieces came onto the market and were called the Wells Fargo Hoard. They were untouched since 1917 and were originally designated as a World War I debt payment.  The coins were housed in a Nevada Wells Fargo bank, which is why they are referred to as the Wells Fargo hoard.

The quality of the coins was amazing and they represent some of the finest Saint-Gaudens on the market today.  All of the coins were graded by PCGS initially, and almost 1,000 were graded MS-67, 101 were graded MS-68 and ten coins were assigned MS-69!

In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned the most famous sculptor of the day, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to re-design U.S. gold coinage.  The President thought it was inappropriate to have "In God We Trust" on coinage, and instructed Saint-Gaudens to remove the Motto.  However, after the first release of gold to the public, the tremendous outcry from citizens across the USA cause an Act of Congress to restore the "In God We Trust" motto in the latter part of 1908.

View Wells Fargo Coins at GreatCollections