Louisiana Purchase Exposition Gold Coin Auctions
The first souvenir US gold coins were authorized for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in St. Louis in 1904. There are two varieties of the gold dollar - one with the head of Thomas Jefferson, who was president when the Louisiana Territory was purchased from France, and the other with President William McKinley, who sanctioned the exposition. The reverse is the same for each variety. The designs were by Charles E. Barber.