$10 Eagle Gold Coin

$10 Eagle Turban Head
Obverse

$10 Eagle Turban Head
Small Eagle Reverse

The $10 Eagle Gold Coin also know as the Eagle was the first gold coin minted by the US mint for circulation on the territory of the United States. The Eagle was first issued in 1795 and was minted until 1933 when the issue of gold coins in the USA was discontinued.

The $10 Eagle gold coin was designed as a base-unit for gold coinage, complementing a decimal system of units accepted at the time in the USA. The system had four main base units of enominations, such as the cent, the dime (10 cents), the dollar (10 dimes), and the eagle (10 dollars). Later in middle 1850s, there was a proposal to create yet another base-unit, the Union, which would be 10 eagles, but the Congress didn't improve the initiative, reasoning that the Double Eagle is good and sufficient enough for general public.

There were 3 major designs of the $10 Eagle gold coin and the size and composition of the coin have changed as well. Originally, the purity of all US gold coins was 22 Karat (91.66%), but later it was changed to 0.9000 (90%). Here is the list of all designs and descriptions for the Eagle gold coins from 1795 to 1933:

Liberty Cap (Turban Head) (1795 – 1804)
The Turban Head design was used for a short period of 9 years from 1795 to 1804 and was done by Robert Scot. This type had gold composition of 0.9166 or 22 Karat and the gold content was 0.5159 troy ounces of pure gold. The coin was 33 mm diameter and weighed 17.5 g, making it quite bigger than its successors. There were two major variations of the type: the "Small Eagle" (1795-1797) and the "Heraldic Eagle" (1797-1804), and some minor varieties as well, which are distinguished by the number of leaves and by the positioning of the stars on the obverse.

Coronet Head (1838 – 1907)
The Coronet Head type was designed by Christian Gobrecht and was issued for 69 years, from 1838 to 1907. This coin was already reduced in size and weight and had gold composition of 0.9000 and the gold content was 0.4839 troy ounces of pure gold. The diameter was 27 mm and it weighted 16.718 g. There were three major variations of the type: the "Old-Style Head" (1838-1839), the "New-Style Head with no Motto" (1839-1866), and the "New-Style Head with Motto" (1866-1907). The minor varieties can be distinguished by the size of the numerals in the date and by the distance between these numerals.

Indian Head (1907 – 1933)
The Indian Head is the last design of the $10 Eagle gold coin; it was made by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and was minted for 26 years, from 1907 to 1933 until the issue of the gold coins was stopped in the USA. The specifications of the coin haven't changed from the Coronet Head and are as follows: gold composition is 0.9000, gold content is 0.4839 oz, diameter is 27 mm, and the weight is 16.718 g. There're only two variations of this type: the "No motto" (1907-1908) and the "Motto" (1908-1933). And some minor varieties can be distinguished by the edge, whether it's rolled and wired, and by the presence or lack of the spaces in the legend "E Pluribus Unum".

You can find more pictures of the different types of the $10 Eagle gold coin at the bottom of the page (scroll down)

You can see some current listings for $10 Eagle gold coins below:

1896 NGC MS 63 $10 Gold Liberty Head Eagle, Low Mintage