When the coins were finally released, they proved controversial as they lacked the words "In God We Trust", and Congress intervened to require the motto's use.

The double eagle, due to its very high face value, equivalent to several hundred dollars today, did not widely circulate, but was the coin most often used for large international transactions, in which settlement was to be in gold.

The obverse of Saint-Gaudens's design, showing Columbus coming ashore, was noncontroversial; his reverse, which featured a torch-bearing naked youth carrying wreaths to crown the victors, was attacked by the censoring postal agent, Anthony Comstock, as obscene.

The exposition directors hastily withdrew the reverse design and replaced it with one created by Barber which, according to numismatic historian Walter Breen, was "notable only for banality".

[4] On December 27, 1904,[8] President Theodore Roosevelt, a personal friend of Saint-Gaudens,[4] wrote to his Secretary of the Treasury, Leslie Mortier Shaw: "I think the state of our coinage is artistically of atrocious hideousness.

"[8] Roosevelt had Mint Director George E. Roberts write to Saint-Gaudens, who replied, "I am extremely interested in the matter of the new designs of the coinage ... it will I assure you give me great pleasure to assist in the procuring of good work.

Shaw did not immediately reply, but instead met with Roosevelt, who wrote that there was no objection to have the coins, many of which would be stored in bank vaults and not circulated, "as artistic as the Greeks could desire".

[13] In May 1906, the sculptor wrote to Roosevelt that he had sent an assistant to Washington to obtain the technical details of the redesign, but "if you succeed in getting the best of the polite Mr. Barber or the others in charge, you will have done a greater work than putting through the Panama Canal.

The reverse is a side view of a flying eagle, seen slightly from below, with a rising Sun and its rays behind it, complementing the obverse design.

[23] Mint Engraver Barber had closely followed the progress of the proposed recoinage, and wrote to Acting Mint Director Robert Preston on November 26, 1906: [Saint-Gaudens] talks so much about experiments, it may be to him, but to us it is no experiment, as we are just as certain that the relief of his eagle will never coin, as we are certain that the Sun will rise each morning, and the only object in all this trouble and waste of money is to convince those who will be convinced in no other way ...

I think our friend [Saint-Gaudens] is playing a game ... but our willingness, nay more, our desire to let the work tell its own story has rather called his hand, and he is not prepared to show it, and therefore is sparing for wind, or time.

[d] In response to Barber's letter, Preston wrote to Saint-Gaudens, "there are no presses anywhere, in mints or in use among silversmiths, which can bring up your proposed relief at a single stroke.

[28] On May 8, 1907, the President wrote Saint-Gaudens, "It has proved hitherto impossible to strike them by one blow, which is necessary under the conditions of making coins of the present day.

Uncertain where to find Hering, Roosevelt ordered the new Secretary of the Treasury, George Cortelyou, to have the Mint finalize the design and put the coin in circulation by September 1.

[33] Barber wrote Philadelphia Mint Superintendent John Landis on August 14 that what Roosevelt wanted was impossible; he had no dies nor any clear idea of how Saint-Gaudens had planned to reduce the relief.

[34] Barber wrote to Preston, "Upon examination it was found that the relief of the models was so great that it would be a waste of time to make reductions for coinage, as it would be quite impossible to coin when the dies are made.

[37] In his memoirs, Leach recalled his initial interview with Roosevelt on the question of the double eagles: Before I had become familiar with my surroundings the President sent for me.

"[40] Barber completed work on his version of the design, with a greatly lowered relief, and the new coin went into production on a large-scale basis.

President Roosevelt, likewise, must bear responsibility for constantly confusing the project with conflicting or incomplete communication to the artist and Mint Bureau.

Mint Director Leach recalled that when "I laid upon his desk a sample of beautifully executed double eagles of the Saint-Gaudens design, he was most enthusiastic in his expressions of pleasure and satisfaction.

[47] In 1916, minting of double eagles ceased, as bullion prices were rising because of World War I, which also caused an influx of American gold coins from Europe.

In the aftermath of the war, international demand for the coin was restored; many Europeans distrusted their local currencies and desired double eagles to hold.

[48] The onset of the Depression in 1929 did not halt the minting of double eagles, but the coins were for the most part held in Treasury vaults, and few were released.

Despite a mintage of almost 1.8 million pieces of the 1929 double eagle, it is estimated that fewer than 2,000 exist today, with all the rest melted by the government in the late 1930s.

Bowers also notes that Secretary of the Treasury William Woodin was a numismatist who in addition to collecting coins, had written books on the subject.

After litigation, a compromise was reached to allow the coin to be auctioned, with the proceeds to be divided equally between the government and the private owners.

[60] On April 17, 2015, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the government had failed to file its forfeiture action in a timely manner, and that the heirs were entitled to the coins.

[66] In 1907, the Mint had experimented by striking about two dozen pieces of the same weight as the double eagle, bearing Saint-Gaudens's design, but which had a smaller, thicker planchet.

[38] In 2009, the Mint struck a similar piece in .999 gold, using Saint-Gaudens's original ultra high relief design for both sides of the coin, though modified to a 50-star obverse.

[54] Millions of double eagles, of both the Liberty Head and Saint-Gaudens designs, were repatriated for numismatic and investment purposes once it was legal to do so.