$10 · Gold · Circulating
Indian Head Eagle
Saint-Gaudens' ten-dollar design, noted for its feathered Liberty headdress, standing eagle, and major motto and relief changes.
- Designer
- Augustus Saint-Gaudens
- Classic dates
- 1907–1916 and 1920–1933
- Mint facilities
- Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco
01 · Overview
Why the Indian Head Eagle matters
Augustus Saint-Gaudens' eagle was one of two denominations completed from Theodore Roosevelt's coinage redesign campaign. The 1907 opening includes Wire Edge and Rolled Edge experiments before the regular No Motto and With Motto types.
The series combines artistic subtypes, low-mintage branch issues, significant melting, and a distinctive star-bearing edge. Date, type, edge, mint, and grade must all agree before rarity or population claims are compared.
02 · Design
Reading the design
Liberty in a feathered headdress
The obverse is an allegorical Liberty. Headdress, cheek, temple, and exposed fields carry much of the condition evidence.
Perched eagle and edge stars
The reverse presents a standing eagle on arrows and an olive branch. Raised edge stars are part of attribution and condition review.
03 · Specifications
Nominal issue specifications
- Denomination
- $10
- Composition
- 90% gold, 10% copper
- Nominal weight
- 16.718 g
- Diameter
- 27.0 mm
- Edge
- Raised stars
- Series dates
- 1907–1916 and 1920–1933
Nominal specifications describe regular classic issues. Patterns, proofs, special strikes, production tolerances, and later commemorative or modern versions may differ.
04 · Grading population
How many have been certified at each grade
No static census copied here. Full grade-by-grade counts change and are not republished without the exact issue, service, strike, designation, source, and as-of date. Use the official tools below; verified figures for an individual Nucoins coin appear on that coin's listing.
Population reports count submissions certified by a grading service. They do not count every surviving coin, and a series-wide total is not a substitute for the exact date, mint, variety, strike, designation, and grade. Nucoins listings show the population in the listed grade and the number graded higher when those figures have been checked against an official report.
- Population in grade
- Coins recorded by that service for the exact issue and assigned grade.
- Higher / finer
- Coins recorded by the same service in numerically higher applicable grades.
- Report date
- The date the figure was checked; counts can change after submissions, resubmissions, and database updates.
05 · Issue map
The series in stages
01 · 1907
Experimental issues
Wire Edge and Rolled Edge pieces differ from regular production and require exact attribution.
02 · 1907–1908
No Motto to With Motto
The motto was added in 1908, creating the principal type transition.
03 · 1909–1933
Later production
Production became intermittent after 1916 and includes heavily melted later issues.
Notable issue checkpoints
Production figures describe coins struck, not coins surviving or certified. Linked issue records provide the context for each figure.
06 · Examination
What photographs should help you examine
Obverse
Cheek, temple, and headdress
Assess friction and contact in the portrait and broad field; strike can affect feather detail.
Reverse
Eagle shoulder and branch
Read the shoulder, breast, wing, arrows, and branch under rotating light.
Edge / holder
Star count and integrity
Confirm the correct edge-star configuration and inspect for smoothing or damage.
07 · Before buying
Questions the listing should answer
01
Separate metal value from numismatic value
The coin contains a known nominal amount of gold, but its market value can also reflect date, mint, variety, survival, grade, surface quality, and demand. A gold calculation is a useful reference point, not a complete valuation method.
02
Read the holder and the coin
Confirm the grading service, grade, certification number, and any documented designation, then examine the photographs independently. A third-party grade is an attributed opinion; it does not replace a review of color, luster, marks, and surface originality.
03
Treat cleaning and damage separately from wear
Circulation wear is only one part of condition. Cleaning, polishing, scratches, rim damage, mount removal, tooling, and altered surfaces can materially change how a coin is described and valued even when substantial design detail remains.
08 · Sources
Primary references
This guide is educational and intentionally type-level. Issue-specific attribution, mintage, certification, and condition should be verified for the individual coin.