Liberty Head Eagle

Liberty Head Eagle – valued at $10 a piece during its minting, it is one of the very first American Gold coins ever created…starting in 1795. The first design of the Liberty Head Eagle features Lady Liberty wearing a conical cap, which is sometimes called as a turban. Along with that, it has an eagle with a wreath right above its head on the reverse.

Later on, however, this wreath was removed…and the eagle was instead portrayed with the well-known heraldic shield located on its chest. The very first Liberty Head eagle coins were undervalued in relation to their worth in gold. That explains why the production of these coins were halted in 1804. Here are the 3 basic designs of the Liberty Head Eagle in a nutshell -

- First, we have the Old Style Head, which lasted from 1838-1839

- Second on the list is New Style Head without the motto which lasted from 1839-1866

- Last, the New Style Head with motto, which was in circulation from 1866-1907

However, when 1838 came – the Liberty Head Eagle was reintroduced. This time, however, it features a portrait of Lady Liberty wearing a coronet coupled with a realistic image of an eagle which has a heraldic shield on the reverse side of the coin. This design of the Liberty Head Eagle has been the standard until 1908.

When 1908 came, however, Pres. Roosevelt, with the help of St. Gaudens, created a new design for coins. And this time, it features Lady Liberty wearing an Indian War Bonnet, which is common among Native Americans. In conjunction with this, an eagle is found on the reverse of the coin with its wings closed.

That’s a lot of ups and downs for a single type of coin and denomination if you would ask me.Ultimately, the production of the Liberty Head Eagle came to a full-stop when the year 1933 came.