Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, 1848-1907

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-05-17

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Recipient

Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, 1848-1907

President Roosevelt tells Augustus Saint-Gaudens that the coin models are immense, and will rival that of the ancient Greeks. Roosevelt says he will tell the Director of the U.S. Mint to reproduce Saint-Gaudens’s design as quickly and faithfully as possible.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-20

President Roosevelt asks Augustus Saint-Gaudens for to send him the coin models in question “at once.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-11

President Roosevelt informs artist Augustus Saint-Gaudens that the letter cheered him. Roosevelt asks Saint-Gaudens to “refine the head of Liberty” if he can and “keep the figure of Liberty for at least one small issue of the coins.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-12

President Roosevelt apologizes to the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens that he cannot strike the gold coins that Saint-Gaudens designed with only one blow and therefore the designs are not practical as “true coinage of the country.” He encloses a letter from the head of the Department of Coins and Medals of the British Museum. Roosevelt asks Saint-Gaudens if he could travel to the United States Mint and work with others to find a solution.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-08

President Roosevelt has directed to have done what sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens discussed. Roosevelt is glad that he likes the feather headdress on Liberty.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-14

President Roosevelt has begun to think he has little appreciation for art, and will therefore defer to Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ opinions regarding the coin designs. He liked the incorporation of the headdress and the figure of Liberty.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-18

President Roosevelt inquires if Augustus Saint-Gaudens could incorporate a Native American feathered head-dress in the design of his coins. United States Mint Director George E. Roberts has told Roosevelt that the newest batch of coin dies are near testing.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-08

President Roosevelt asks Augustus Saint-Gaudens if he could send a design for the twenty dollar gold piece before Congress meets, as he is receiving pressure from Secretary of the Treasury Leslie M. Shaw on the progress of the project. Roosevelt compliments Saint-Gaudens on his work and looks forward to the finished design.  

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-01

President Roosevelt asks Augustus Saint-Gaudens how the business of coinage is progressing. He does not want to bother Saint-Gaudens, but feels that it would be best to settle the matter during the present summer.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-30

President Roosevelt asks Augustus Saint-Gaudens to tell him when he wants Roosevelt to take up the subject of coins with the United States Mint.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-22

President Roosevelt sends Augustus Saint-Gaudens a copy of a letter he just sent to Secretary of the Treasury Leslie M. Shaw. He is delighted that Saint-Gaudens is making good progress on the new coin design and requests that Saint-Gaudens show the design when he has it ready.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-26

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-02-01

Creator(s)

Loeb, William, 1866-1937

Recipient

Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, 1848-1907

President Roosevelt tells Augustus Saint-Gaudens that he has told Secretary of the Treasury Leslie M. Shaw that the coinage is his “pet baby,” and that Saint-Gaudens should go ahead making the design. Although Shaw thinks that Roosevelt is “a mere crack-brained lunatic” about the matter, he says that a certain number of gold coins have to be stored in vaults, and there is no object to having them be artistically designed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-06

President Roosevelt asks Augustus Saint-Gaudens if it is wise to select Gutzon Borglum to do the work in question.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-12-20

President Roosevelt believes that permission to use the word “justice” on the new coin can be obtained, and that Augustus Saint-Gaudens can create something that is not only artistically beautiful, but “worthy of a civilized people.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-24

President Roosevelt responds to Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s letter about the design of a new coin. The design needs to meet the commercial needs of bankers and merchants. Roosevelt likes a raised design, but notes that because the coins will have to be stacked, the figures cannot be as high as with Grecian style coins.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-14

President Roosevelt asks Augustus Saint-Gaudens about progress on the gold coin designs, and suggests that they be made in high relief, similar to Greek coinage.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-06

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-08

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Recipient

Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, 1848-1907

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-13

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Recipient

Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, 1848-1907