Indian Head Gold $10 Eagles
Indian Head Gold Eagles (1907–1933)
Saint-Gaudens Died on August 3, 1907, Before a Single Coin Was Released; the Design He Had Developed for a Cent Became the Obverse of the Most Celebrated Gold Coin of the 20th Century
President Theodore Roosevelt's collaboration with Augustus Saint-Gaudens began around 1904 and called for redesigning the four denominations of gold coinage. Saint-Gaudens had originally developed the portrait of Liberty wearing a Native American war bonnet for a proposed cent, adapting it from the neoclassical tradition of James Barton Longacre's Indian Head cent while setting the word LIBERTY on the headband of the headdress. Roosevelt redirected this model to the ten-dollar eagle. For the reverse, Roosevelt selected Saint-Gaudens' standing eagle, which the sculptor had developed for the twenty-dollar double eagle and which shows the bird upright on a bundle of arrows, with an olive branch to the right. Saint-Gaudens submitted his plasters to the Philadelphia Mint on June 1, 1907, only to have Chief Engraver Charles Barber oppose them on the grounds that the relief was too high for practical striking and that the coins would not stack. Seriously ill from cancer, Saint-Gaudens handed further revisions to his assistant Henry Hering, who lowered the relief and changed the Roman numerals in the date to Arabic. Barber made additional modifications, including the rim. Saint-Gaudens died on August 3, 1907, before a coin of his design had been struck for circulation. Roosevelt directed the Mint to finish the work and produce coins that month; the first pieces in the new design were delivered to the President on August 31. The edge of the coin carries raised stars rather than reeding or lettering: 46 stars through 1911, representing the states then in the Union, and 48 from 1912 onward when New Mexico and Arizona were admitted.1
Roosevelt Omitted IN GOD WE TRUST Because He Considered It Sacrilege; Congress Restored It by Statute Before the End of 1908
The omission of IN GOD WE TRUST from Saint-Gaudens' design was not an oversight. Roosevelt believed that placing the name of the Deity on a coin that might appear at a gambling table was a form of sacrilege, and the motto was deliberately left off both the eagle and the double eagle when they entered circulation in late 1907. Public reaction was immediate and hostile, and Congress passed legislation mandating the motto's return. Chief Engraver Barber added the words to the reverse, placing them to the left of the eagle, and With Motto production began in mid-1908. The series therefore divides into four collecting types: the Wire Rim and Rounded Rim issues of 1907, each with their own production story; the No Motto regular-production type of late 1907 and early 1908; and the With Motto type of mid-1908 through 1933, which encompasses the great majority of the total mintage. Matte Proofs were produced at the Philadelphia Mint from 1908 through 1915, with some years also receiving a Roman finish; total Matte Proof production was approximately 616 pieces across the eight years. Pratt later adapted Saint-Gaudens' standing eagle reverse for the incuse Indian Head quarter eagle and half eagle, making the eagle's reverse the direct visual ancestor of those two denominations.2
Production Ran Continuously Through 1916, Then Stopped for Three Years and Resumed Only Intermittently; the 1933 Is Among the Rarest Coins in the Series Despite a Mintage of 312,500
The Indian Head eagle was struck every year from 1907 through 1916 at Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. With the onset of World War I, gold coins commanded a premium above face value as bullion moved internationally to pay for war materials, and new production ceased after 1916. No eagles were struck in 1917 through 1919, 1921 through 1925, 1927 through 1929, or 1931. The final five years of production were 1920 (San Francisco only), 1926 (Philadelphia only), 1930 (San Francisco only), 1932 (Philadelphia only), and 1933 (Philadelphia only). In March 1933, before most of the year's mintage of 312,500 could be distributed, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered that no more gold coins be released from the Treasury; the bulk of the 1933 eagles were subsequently melted. The survivors, approximately 30 to 35 examples according to David Akers, with current population counts reaching approximately 40, were obtained directly from the Mint before the order took effect, and all known examples are Uncirculated. Unlike the 1933 twenty-dollar double eagle, whose legal ownership has been disputed in federal proceedings, the legal status of the 1933 eagle has never been called into question; private ownership is unambiguously lawful. The 1920-S and 1930-S are the other major rarities in the series, both involving substantial original mintages dramatically reduced by melting, with the 1920-S at approximately 126,500 struck and the 1930-S at approximately 96,000 struck, each surviving in numbers small enough to constitute genuine key dates in all grades.3
Building the Set
A two-type set requires a No Motto example and a With Motto example. For the No Motto type, Philadelphia dates of 1907 and 1908 in the several-hundred-thousand mintage range are the most available; these are moderately priced through Mint State 62 and expensive above. For the With Motto type, the 1926 Philadelphia and 1932 Philadelphia are the best candidates in Gem (Mint State 65 or finer) condition: the 1932, with a mintage of 4,463,000, is the highest-mintage issue in the series and the most available in upper Mint State grades, though even this date thins sharply above Mint State 63 due to the bag-mark susceptibility common across the series. A date-and-mint set of the standard production issues, excluding the Wire Rim and Rounded Rim, encompasses 32 date-and-mint combinations; including those two 1907 issues and the four-type set brings the full collecting scope to 34 items. The 1911-D, with a mintage of only 30,100, is the rarest regular-production date in the series in all grades short of the 1920-S, 1930-S, and 1933. The primary specialist reference is Garrett, Jeff, and Ron Guth, Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins, 1795–1933, 2nd ed. (Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2008).4
Notes
- Roosevelt's collaboration with Saint-Gaudens beginning around 1904 for the four gold denominations; the obverse portrait of Liberty wearing a Native American war bonnet, originally developed for a proposed cent, adapted from the neoclassical tradition of Longacre's Indian Head cent with LIBERTY on the headband; Roosevelt redirecting the model to the eagle; the reverse (standing eagle on arrows with olive branch) originally developed for the twenty-dollar double eagle; Saint-Gaudens submitting plasters June 1, 1907; Barber opposing on grounds of excessive relief and stacking problems; Saint-Gaudens handing revisions to Henry Hering, who lowered the relief and changed Roman to Arabic numerals; Barber making additional modifications including the rim; Saint-Gaudens dying August 3, 1907, before a coin was struck for circulation; Roosevelt directing the Mint to finish and produce coins that month; first pieces delivered to the President August 31; the starred edge (46 raised stars 1907-1911; 48 from 1912 when New Mexico and Arizona were admitted) are from Garrett, Jeff, and Ron Guth, Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins, 1795–1933, 2nd ed. (Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2008), and Breen, Walter, Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins (New York: F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, 1988).
- Roosevelt's theological objection to IN GOD WE TRUST, believing placing the Deity's name on a coin that might appear at a gambling table was sacrilegious; the motto deliberately omitted from both the eagle and double eagle in late 1907; Congress mandating its return by statute; Barber adding the motto to the left of the eagle on the reverse; With Motto production beginning mid-1908; the four collecting types (Wire Rim 1907, Rounded Rim 1907, No Motto regular production 1907-1908, With Motto 1908-1933); Matte Proofs at Philadelphia 1908-1915 with some years in Roman finish, approximately 616 total; Pratt adapting Saint-Gaudens' standing eagle reverse for the incuse Indian Head quarter eagle and half eagle are from Garrett and Guth (2008) and Breen (1988).
- The Wire Rim at approximately 500 struck, roughly 325-375 surviving today, 70 reportedly melted 1914-1915; the Rounded Rim at approximately 31,500 struck with all but approximately 40-50 melted; Mint Director Frank Leach recording in his 1917 memoir that survivors were distributed to museums, officials, and others connected with the work; Stack's Bowers Galleries, April 5, 2022, lot 4058, 1907 Wire Rim Eagle, NGC Mint State 68, $840,000; Stack's Bowers Galleries, April 5, 2022, lot 4059, 1907 Rounded Rim Eagle, PCGS Mint State 67 CAC, $1,140,000, both from the Dr. Paul and Rosalie Zito Collection are confirmed from the Stack's Bowers Galleries Spring 2022 Showcase Auction year-end press release. Continuous production 1907-1916; no production 1917-1919, 1921-1925, 1927-1929, 1931; final five years 1920-S, 1926, 1930-S, 1932, 1933; FDR ordering in March 1933 that no more gold coins be released from the Treasury; the 1933 mintage of 312,500 with approximately 30-35 survivors per Akers' 1980 estimate (current population counts reaching approximately 40), all Uncirculated, obtained directly from the Mint before the order took effect; the 1933 eagle's legal ownership unquestioned in contrast to the 1933 double eagle; the 1920-S at approximately 126,500 and the 1930-S at approximately 96,000 struck, both dramatically reduced by melting are from Garrett and Guth (2008) and Akers, David W., United States Gold Coins, Volume V, Eagles 1795–1933 (Paramount Publications, 1980).
- The No Motto type (Philadelphia 1907 and 1908 in several-hundred-thousand mintage range as most available); With Motto type (1926 and 1932 Philadelphia as best Gem candidates); the 1932 at 4,463,000 as highest-mintage issue and most available in upper Mint State; the series thinning above Mint State 63 due to bag-mark susceptibility; a standard date-and-mint set of 32 combinations (34 with Wire Rim and Rounded Rim); the 1911-D at 30,100 as rarest regular-production date below the three major late rarities; and the primary reference are from Garrett and Guth (2008).
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