$10 Indian Eagle of Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Widely known as the Indian Eagle, the Ten-Dollar gold coin struck in the United States Mint from 1907 through 1933 was designed during the most artistically advanced period of time in the history of our nation’s Mint. Ushering in a renaissance of United States coin design, the Indian Eagle was created alongside the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle (or Twenty-Dollar gold piece) at the request of then-President Theodore Roosevelt. A flamboyant character who left an indelible mark on many aspects of American history, “Teddy” believed that United States coinage needed to be redesigned in order to reflect the nation’s advancement to the center of the world stage during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Focusing first and foremost on the nation’s gold coinage, Roosevelt turned to the Cornish, New Hampshire sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to create new designs for the Ten- and Twenty-Dollar gold coins.

One of the preeminent artists of his day, Saint-Gaudens adhered to one of Roosevelt’s primary requirements for the new coins by drawing heavily upon Greco-Roman coinage designs. His new design for the Ten-Dollar gold piece employs a left-facing bust of Liberty as the focal feature on the obverse (or front) of the coin. Although her lines are fine and delicate in Greco-Roman style, Liberty is wearing a feathered headdress that unmistakably defines her as “American.” For the reverse (or back) of the coin, Saint-Gaudens designed a majestic bald eagle striding to the viewer’s left atop a bundle of arrows and an olive sprig. The usual statutory inscriptions are also present on both sides, the motto IN GOD WE TRUST being added a bit later upon express orders from Congress and over the objections of the president. Theodore Roosevelt felt that the use of a deity’s name on coinage was blasphemy and had Saint-Gaudens omit the motto on the earliest designs.

First struck in 1907, the Indian Eagle was produced fairly consistently through early 1933. Notable gaps in the series occurred in 1917, 1918, 1919, from 1921 through 1925 and again in 1931, when no coins of this denomination were struck. Many issues in this series are important rarities either in an absolute sense or in the finer Mint State grades. The leading overall rarities among Indian Eagles are the 1920-S, 1930-S and the final-year 1933. Most examples of these issues were melted in the Mint when President Franklin Roosevelt banned production of new gold coins in an effort to reverse the tide of the Great Depression.

Many other Indian Eagles are rare coins in high grades, examples of which are the 1908-S, 1911-S, 1913-S and 1915-S. In fact, the series as a whole can be quite challenging to acquire in Mint State, particularly when compared to the equally popular Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle. Indian Eagles were more widely used in commerce than Double Eagles, and the coins also seem to have been handled with less care by government employees during the minting, storage and distribution processes. Collectors seeking a single Indian Eagle to include in a more expansive collection often focus on the 1926 or the 1932, these two issues being the most readily obtainable in Mint State. At the Choice MS-63 grade level, Indian Eagles are particularly desirable as individual coins offer an excellent mix of technical quality and affordability.