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Liberty Head Gold $10 Eagles (Coronet)

Published November 19, 2025

U.S. Gold Coins

Coin Design History

Liberty Head Gold Eagles (1838–1907)

Collectors Key Editorial  •  Gold Series
Author NameChris D.Date PublishedMarch 29, 2026 DenominationEagle ($10 Gold) Years Issued1838–1907 DesignerChristian Gobrecht Composition90% gold, 10% copper Weight16.718 grams Diameter26.8 mm EdgeReeded TypesNo Motto (1838–1866); With Motto IN GOD WE TRUST (1866–1907) Total Business Strike MintageApproximately 42,684,236 Proof MintageSporadic before the late 1850s; 20 to 120 a year thereafter MintsPhiladelphia (no mark); New Orleans (O, 1841–1906); San Francisco (S, 1854–1907); Carson City (CC, 1870–1893); Denver (D, 1906–1907)

Gobrecht's Design Ended a 34-Year Gap and Then Ran for 69 Years, Changed Only in 1839 and 1866

When Christian Gobrecht completed the Liberty Head design for the eagle in 1838, the denomination had been absent from production since Thomas Jefferson's 1804 halt. The new coin was smaller and lighter than its predecessor, reflecting the Coinage Act of June 28, 1834, which revised the statutory gold-to-silver ratio, and the Act of January 18, 1837, which standardized all gold coin compositions at 90% gold and 10% copper. Gobrecht placed Liberty facing left, wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY, her hair drawn back in a bun secured with a beaded tie, thirteen six-pointed stars inside the rim. The reverse depicts a heraldic eagle with a shield on its breast, arrows and an olive branch in its talons, and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA above with TEN D. below. Before the denomination's second year of production was complete, Gobrecht modified the portrait, refining the truncation and the arrangement of hair over the ear, producing the version that would persist to the end of the series in 1907. The design first appeared on the eagle; the half eagle received it in 1839 and the quarter eagle in 1840. Apart from the 1839 portrait revision and the 1866 addition of the motto, the design ran unchanged for the 69 years from 1838 to 1907, a span matched in federal gold coinage only by the Liberty Head half eagle of 1839 to 1908.1

The Motto Was Added in 1866, After a Wartime Petition to the Treasury and an Act of Congress

In November 1861, the Reverend M. R. Watkinson of Ridleyville, Pennsylvania, wrote to Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase proposing that federal coinage acknowledge the nation's religious faith. Chase found the idea persuasive and directed the Mint to develop suitable language. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST appeared first on the two-cent piece in 1864 and was extended to gold coinage by act of Congress in 1865, appearing on the eagle beginning with 1866 production. The motto was placed on a scroll above the eagle's head on the reverse. With its addition, the series divides naturally into two collecting types: the No Motto issues of 1838 to 1866, struck at Philadelphia, New Orleans (O, 1841–1860), and San Francisco (S, 1854–1866), and the With Motto issues of 1866 to 1907, struck at five mints. Proof eagles were struck only sporadically before the late 1850s and every year from then through 1907, in recorded quantities that ran from 20 pieces (1874, 1875, 1877 and 1878) to 120 (1900). The San Francisco Mint did not strike eagles in 1875, 1890, 1891, or 1904; the Carson City Mint produced eagles from 1870 through 1884 and again from 1890 through 1893; and the Denver Mint struck eagles only in 1906 and 1907 before the Indian Head design replaced Gobrecht's portrait.2

Five issues in the entire series have business strike mintages below 1,000 pieces: the Philadelphia dates of 1873, 1875, 1876, and 1877, and the 1883-O from New Orleans. The 1875 Philadelphia is the outlier in this group. With only 100 business strikes recorded, it holds the distinction of the lowest mintage of any regular-issue coin in the complete Liberty Head eagle series, and, by the standard of documented production figures, of any regular-issue coin struck at the Philadelphia Mint for general circulation. David Akers, writing in his comprehensive 1980 survey, estimated that no more than five or six business strikes survive, including two of what he called "horrendously low quality"; later estimates run from Doug Winter's seven to nine up to 15, and PCGS rates the business strike at least as rare as the 1804 silver dollar. Every known business strike of the 1875 eagle is characterized by heavily abraded, prooflike surfaces; none has been certified above About Uncirculated. The 1873, 1876, and 1877 Philadelphia dates range from approximately 30 to 55 survivors each and are themselves major rarities in grades above Extremely Fine. The 1883-O, with 800 business strikes and an estimated 35 to 45 survivors, is the lowest mintage issue from any branch mint in the entire denomination's history.

Building the Set

A basic type set requires two coins, one No Motto example and one With Motto example, although the PCGS Set Registry also treats the 1838 to 1839 covered-ear head as a separate type. For the No Motto type, the six-figure Philadelphia issues of 1847 to 1853 offer the best availability in grades through About Uncirculated, with the 1847 at 862,258 pieces the most common date in the entire No Motto run. For the With Motto type, Philadelphia and San Francisco issues from 1879 onward, and particularly the high-mintage dates of the early 1880s (the 1881 at 3,877,220 business strikes is the single largest issue in the series), are the most accessible. Gem (Mint State 65 or finer) examples are scarce for most dates in the series, and many dates are seldom found above Mint State 63. A complete date-and-mint set runs to 179 coins in the PCGS Set Registry listing and includes issues that range from readily available to extremely rare and costly, particularly the 1875, 1864-S, and 1870-CC. Stack's Bowers Galleries sold an 1870-CC eagle graded PCGS About Uncirculated 55 as lot 3412 on August 13, 2024, for $420,000, a record for the grade and the second-highest price ever realized for the issue. The primary specialist reference is Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth's Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins, 1795-1933, 2nd ed. (Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2008); see also David W. Akers's United States Gold Coins: An Analysis of Auction Records, Volume V, Eagles 1795-1933 (Englewood, Ohio: Paramount Publications, 1980).3

Notes

  1. Gobrecht completing the Liberty Head design for the eagle in 1838 after the denomination's 34-year absence since Jefferson's 1804 halt; the new coin's smaller size and lighter weight reflecting the Coinage Act of June 28, 1834 and the standardization of gold coin composition at 90% gold and 10% copper under the Act of January 18, 1837; the obverse and reverse descriptions; Gobrecht modifying the portrait in 1839 (truncation and hair over ear), the version used to 1907; the design first appearing on the eagle, then the half eagle in 1839 and the quarter eagle in 1840; the design running from 1838 to 1907 with changes only in 1839 and 1866, a span matched only by the Liberty Head half eagle (1839 to 1908), are from Garrett, Jeff, and Ron Guth, Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins, 1795-1933, 2nd ed. (Atlanta: Whitman Publishing, 2008), and Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins (New York: F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, 1988).
  2. The Reverend M. R. Watkinson's November 1861 letter to Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase proposing recognition of religious faith on federal coinage; Chase directing the Mint to develop suitable language; IN GOD WE TRUST appearing first on the two-cent piece in 1864 and extended to gold coinage by act of Congress in 1865; the motto appearing on the eagle beginning with 1866, placed on a scroll above the eagle's head; the two collecting types (No Motto 1838-1866 and With Motto 1866-1907); the San Francisco Mint not striking eagles in 1875, 1890, 1891, and 1904; Carson City producing eagles 1870-1884 and 1890-1893; Denver striking eagles only in 1906-1907 are from Garrett and Guth (2008) and Breen (1988). Proof eagles struck sporadically before the late 1850s and annually thereafter, 20 pieces (1874, 1875, 1877, 1878) to 120 (1900): CoinWeek, "Liberty Head Eagle With Motto, 1866-1907" (coinweek.com), and PCGS CoinFacts.
  3. The five sub-1000 mintage issues (1873, 1875, 1876, and 1877 at Philadelphia; 1883-O at New Orleans); the 1875 at 100 business strikes as the lowest mintage regular-issue coin in the series; Akers' estimate of no more than five to six business strike survivors, including two of poor quality; every known 1875 business strike characterized by heavily abraded prooflike surfaces, none certified above About Uncirculated; the 1873, 1876, and 1877 Philadelphia dates with approximately 30-55 survivors each; the 1883-O as the lowest mintage branch mint issue; the Philadelphia issues of 1847-1853 as most available for a No Motto type coin; the 1881 at 3,877,220 business strikes as the largest issue in the series; the 1875, 1864-S, and 1870-CC as the outstanding rarities are from Garrett and Guth (2008) and Akers, David W., United States Gold Coins: An Analysis of Auction Records, Volume V, Eagles 1795-1933 (Englewood, Ohio: Paramount Publications, 1980). The 1875 as the lowest-mintage regular-issue coin struck at the Philadelphia Mint for circulation, later survival estimates including Doug Winter's seven to nine, and the comparison with the 1804 silver dollar: PCGS CoinFacts, 1875 $10 (PCGS #8672). The 1883-O survival estimate of 35 to 45: Winter, Douglas, Gold Coins of the New Orleans Mint, 1839-1909 (2006). The 179-coin set and the PCGS type division: PCGS Set Registry, Liberty Head $10 Gold Basic Set, Circulation Strikes (1838-1907). Stack's Bowers Galleries, August 13, 2024, lot 3412, 1870-CC Liberty Head Eagle, PCGS About Uncirculated 55, $420,000: the Stack's Bowers Galleries August 2024 Global Showcase Rarities Night press release, as reported by CoinWeek.

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