Indian Head Eagle

One of the most beautiful coins ever produced by the US Mint – that’s how coin collectors would describe the Indian Head Eagle gold coin (which is also known as the $10 Eagle)…minted from the year 1907 all the way to 1933. And it’s not really surprising why. The history of the Indian Head Eagle coin is just as rich and as beautiful as its appearance.

It was President Roosevelt who insisted with the production of this coin. Apparently, he hated the current design on his Inaugural Medal which was designed by Charles E. Barber along with George T. Morgan. Not only that, he also disliked the coins created the same Engravers and Designers during the time.

As a solution, President Roosevelt enlisted the help of the aging but skillfull sculptor – Augustus Saint-Gaudens to come up with the new design for US coins. The gentleman, however, was too busy…so busy that he only had time to sketch his ideas on a napkin paper while taking a trip from Washington through a train.

To do the actual work, Saint-Gaudens requested the help of his associate – Adolf A. Weinman, who has been well-known for his work on the Mercury Dime as well as the Walking Liberty Half Dollar. The design of the Indian Head Eagle was altered many times until it settled with one that turned out to be the most appealing – it features Lady Liberty wearing an Indian feather headdress. There are reports saying that this picture of Lady Liberty was drawn from a figure of Nike or Victory from the General Sherman monument – which is found standing in New York Central park.

It was only after more alterations to the design (due to minting problems) that the Indian Head Eagle was finally released to the public. Less than 240,000 of these coins were put into circulation during the fall of 1907. The last design of the Indian Head Eagle was used until 1908.