Indian Head eagle
United States | |
Value | 10 United States dollars (1 eagle) |
---|---|
Mass | 16.718 g |
Diameter | 26.92 mm |
Thickness | 2.023 mm |
Edge | Starred;
|
Composition | 90% gold, 10% copper |
Gold | .48375 troy oz |
Years of minting | 1907–1933 |
Mint marks | D, S. Located for 1908-D "No Motto" issues, above the leaves near the eagle's feet on the reverse; for all pieces with "IN GOD WE TRUST", to the left of the arrow on which the eagle stands Philadelphia Mint pieces lack mint mark. |
Obverse | |
Design | A left-facing bust of Liberty wearing an Indian feather headdress; 13 stars surmount the design |
Designer | Augustus Saint-Gaudens |
Design date | 1907 |
Design discontinued | 1933 |
Reverse | |
Design | An eagle standing on a sheaf of arrows encircled by an olive branch. (dots before and after TEN DOLLARS and narrow rim only on some 1907 issues) |
Designer | Augustus Saint-Gaudens |
Design date | 1907 |
Design discontinued | 1908 |
Design | With "In God We Trust" |
Designer | Augustus Saint-Gaudens |
Design date | 1908 |
Design discontinued | 1933 |
The Indian Head eagle is a $10 gold piece or eagle that was struck by the United States Mint continuously from 1907 until 1916, and then irregularly until 1933. The obverse and reverse were designed by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, originally commissioned for use on other denominations. He was suffering from cancer and did not survive to see the coins released.
Beginning in 1904, President
The coin as sculpted by Saint-Gaudens was too high in relief for the Mint to strike readily, and it took months to modify the design so that the coin could be struck by one blow of the Mint's presses. Saint-Gaudens died on August 3, 1907, and Roosevelt insisted that the new eagle be finished and struck that month. New pieces were given to the President on August 31 which differ from the coins struck later for circulation.
The omission of the motto "In God We Trust" on the new coins caused public outrage, and prompted Congress to pass a bill mandating its inclusion. Mint Chief Engraver
Inception
In 1904, President
In 1905, Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber engraved the obverse of Roosevelt's inauguration medal, while his assistant George T. Morgan engraved the reverse. Roosevelt disliked the work and engaged Saint-Gaudens to design an unofficial medal commemorating the inauguration.[5] Saint-Gaudens foresaw resistance from Barber on the question of the new coinage; he wrote to his brother Louis, "Barber is a S.O.A.B. [son of a bitch] but I had a talk with the President who ordered Secretary Shaw in my presence to cut Barber's head off if he didn't do our bidding".[6]
Roosevelt was impressed by some models that Saint-Gaudens had prepared for the cent showing a head of Liberty. In early 1907, he wrote to Saint-Gaudens proposing that an Indian war bonnet be added to the obverse of the cent: "I feel very strongly that on at least one coin we ought to have the Indian feather headdress. It is distinctly American, and very picturesque. Couldn't you have just such a head as you have now, but with the feather headdress?"
Mint Director George E. Roberts wrote to Saint-Gaudens on May 25, 1907: "It is now settled ... the design for the Eagle shall be the feather head of Liberty with the standing eagle".[11] Saint-Gaudens and his assistants moved quickly on the revision, and he sent models of the new coin on June 1 with a letter stating that the relief of the new models should be coinable by the Mint. The double eagles were then being delayed because Saint-Gaudens had twice sent the Mint models with too high a relief that could not be struck in one blow, as required for circulating coinage.[12] His letter was forwarded to the Philadelphia Mint, where Superintendent John Landis had Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber read and initial it. On June 7, Barber responded to Landis:
I beg to report that I have received two models in plaster and also a copy of a letter from Mr. Saint-Gaudens to the Director, in which there are certain statements that are somewhat misleading ... the relief of the design must conform to the fixed conditions and therefore, the only relief that I knew of was coin relief; the models now sent are not coin relief. ... The date of the year is in Roman notation, there is no provision made for even next year, there being no place left, and as these coins have to stand for twenty-five years before another change can be made, I feel it necessary to state that within a few years it would be impossible to date the dies.[13]
Roberts wrote to Saint-Gaudens on June 11 suggesting that there might be problems with the date and the relief; he received no response and wrote again on June 18. This time the sculptor responded, writing that he had been awaiting the return of his assistant Henry Hering, who had handled much of the dealings with the Mint. He agreed that Roman numerals were ill-advised for the eagle, and he sent new models to the Mint on June 24. Barber used these models to prepare a die, along with a bronze casting which was produced privately, and the Mint struck experimental pieces on July 19. These "high relief" pieces required multiple strikes of the press to fully bring up the design. Saint-Gaudens wrote to the Mint in mid-July, "I am waiting to know about this in order to proceed with the other reliefs", and he was sent one of the new pieces, along with a Liberty Head eagle for comparison.[14]
On July 19, Roberts sent a similar pair of coins to Secretary of the Treasury
Preparations
Roberts left office on July 31, 1907 to become president of the Commercial National Bank of Chicago. As his successor, San Francisco Mint Superintendent Frank A. Leach, did not take office until November 1, former Mint Director Robert Preston served as acting director in the interim.[14]
On August 7, Roosevelt ordered Secretary Cortelyou to have the designs for the eagle and double eagle finalized and in production by September 1. With Landis on vacation,[17] Cortelyou passed the President's letter on to the acting Philadelphia Mint superintendent, Dr. Albert A. Norris, instructing him to "have this matter taken up at once and the President's instructions carried out; and everything possible must be done to expedite the work."[18] Preston wrote to Roberts, asking for information about the new coinage, and the former Mint director responded on August 12, outlining the correspondence with Saint-Gaudens, and noting that "no instructions have been received from the President as to the half and quarter eagle, but I expected that the eagle design would be used upon them ... The President concluded to leave the One Cent piece unchanged, and there has been no discussion about any change in the Nickel piece."[19]
In response to the President's instructions, Barber wrote to Norris informing him that the design for the eagle had been awaiting approval since July, making no mention of the Mint's desire for sharper die work. Norris noted in his subsequent letter to Acting Director Preston that the Mint had been having trouble with the collar, which would strike the edge of the coin and impress 46 stars, representing the number of states there would be after Oklahoma's already scheduled admission to the Union later in 1907. Mint authorities had turned unsuccessfully to their counterparts in Paris for advice, but the Mint's machine shop was able to perfect the collar.[20] Norris defended Barber in his letter to Preston,
I think the President does Mr. Barber an injustice when he speaks of "a certain cumbersomeness of mind and inability to do the speediest modern work, as shown by these delays," here. The making of the models for these coins was given to Saint Gaudens, who was a sculptor and had no experience with coinage designs. When the models were received, the Bureau [of the Mint] was notified that the dies made from them would not work in the coining press ... the models were returned to Saint Gaudens, at his request and a modified set furnished after some time. The Bureau was informed that even these would not make dies satisfactory for coinage, but the dies were made and it was found they could not be used in the coining press. How are we going to strike coins from these for the President?[21]
In late August, Augusta Saint-Gaudens sent new models for the eagle to Acting Director Preston. When Barber examined them, he noted, "dies made from these models would be a great improvement over those already made"[22] and stated that with these models, the Mint could have the eagle in full production within a month. Homer Saint-Gaudens, the sculptor's son, wrote to Preston, "Mr. Hering has finally finished the eagle at a relief slightly lower than that on the French [gold] coin by Chaplin, [sic, actually Chaplain] which is the lowest relief that Mr. Hering knew my father would abide by, and which I understand Mr. Barber can mint."[22] In the meantime, Cortelyou ordered 500 pieces struck on the Mint's high-pressure medal press from the dies the Mint had from Saint-Gaudens's earlier efforts, thus complying with the letter of the President's August 7 order. Preston sent a note to Norris, warning that the President would likely order 100 pieces and suggesting that he have the coins available "so you can furnish them without a moment's delay".[23] According to numismatic historian Roger Burdette, "these were an 'insurance policy', put in place by Cortelyou against additional presidential rage".[24] The President viewed sample eagle coins on August 31, and expressed his satisfaction with them and his desire to see more struck.[23]
As Saint-Gaudens's design did not include a rim (the raised surface which surrounds each side of a coin), excess metal was forming a "fin" or extrusion from the coin. The fin was easily broken off, and there was a threat that the eagles would quickly become underweight, diminishing their usefulness as a trade coin. Barber engraved a rim onto the die, eliminating the problem.[25]
About five hundred pieces had been struck from Saint-Gauden's original dies; these were struck on the medal press and were for the most part distributed to government officials. They are referred to as "wire rim" pieces, denoting the sharp angle at which the field of the coin meets the edge without the intermediary of a rim.[26] They remained available for purchase from the Mint for face value at least until 1912.[27] One sold at auction in January 2011 for $230,000.[28] A total of 32,000 eagles were struck using the Barber-modified Saint-Gaudens dies, for the most part using ordinary coinage presses. These are known as the "rounded rim" pieces.[29] On November 9, 1907, with the dies made from the low relief Saint-Gaudens models in full production, Frank Leach, the new Mint director, decided to have 31,950 of the rounded rim specimens melted, saving only fifty.[30] According to Leach in his memoirs, these "were given to museums of art and officials and others connected with the work".[31] The surviving rounded rim specimens can be readily distinguished from later 1907 strikes, as they have dots before, between, and after the words "Ten Dollars" on the reverse.[30] One, which had been in the possession of the Leach family for a century, sold in January 2011 for $2,185,000.[28]
Mint Director Leach described the pieces in a report to Cortelyou summarizing the redesign project:
The obverse of the eagle bears the feathered head of Liberty which was originally intended for the one cent piece. The President was so pleased with this design that he decided to have it placed on the eagle. The head, the artist stated, was designed in accordance with the suggestions of the President. The reverse bears the standing eagle, and on the edge of the coins there are forty-six stars, one for each State.[32]
Design
Saint-Gaudens based his head of Liberty on a model that he had sculpted but not used for the statue of Victory in the
Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth call the details of the coin "a trifle fantastic".[37] They point to the unlikeliness of any female wearing a head-dress only donned by a male warrior, and they describe the word "LIBERTY" on the headdress as "placed incongruously".[37]
Release and production
The new eagles entered circulation around November 4, 1907, although Leach did not receive formal approval to issue the pieces until December 19.[38]
As early as November 7, articles were appearing in newspapers noting the omission of the motto "
Denver mintmarks from 1908 to 1910 are much larger than those in subsequent years; San Francisco mintmarks are consistently small.[40] With the admission of New Mexico and Arizona as states in 1912, the number of stars on the edge was increased from 46 to 48.[40]
The coin was struck every year from 1907 to 1916.
On December 28, 1933, Acting Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau ordered Americans to turn in all gold coins and gold certificates, with limited exceptions, receiving paper money in payment.[49] Millions of gold coins were melted down by the Treasury in the following years. Many of the gold coins seen today had been exported to Europe before 1933 and repatriated once restrictions on holding gold were ended.[50]
Collecting
With the exception of the 1907 high relief pieces, no date or mintmark of the circulation strikes of the Indian Head eagle before 1920 is particularly rare.
References
Notes
- ^ Burdette 2007, p. 19.
- ^ Yeoman 2014, p. 268.
- ^ Yeoman 2014, p. 275.
- ^ Burdette 2007, p. 20.
- ^ Vermeule 1971, pp. 108–109.
- ^ Moran 2008, p. 219.
- ^ Burdette 2006, pp. 83–84.
- ^ Breen 1988, p. 558.
- ^ Vermeule 1971, p. 115.
- ^ Burdette 2006, p. 84.
- ^ a b Burdette 2006, p. 209.
- ^ Burdette 2006, p. 98.
- ^ Burdette 2006, p. 99.
- ^ a b c Burdette 2006, pp. 100–101.
- ^ Burdette 2006, p. 102.
- ^ Burdette 2006, p. 105.
- ^ Moran 2008, p. 307.
- ^ Burdette 2006, p. 106.
- ^ Burdette 2006, pp. 106–107.
- ^ Moran 2008, p. 301.
- ^ Burdette 2006, pp. 108–109.
- ^ a b Burdette 2006, p. 113.
- ^ a b Burdette 2006, p. 115.
- ^ Burdette 2006, p. 117.
- ^ Moran 2008, pp. 301–302.
- ^ Breen 1988, p. 559.
- ^ Burdette 2006, p. 118.
- ^ a b Roach, 2011-01-17.
- ^ Yeoman 2014, p. 274.
- ^ a b Burdette 2006, pp. 116–117.
- ^ Leach 1917, pp. 378–381.
- ^ Burdette 2006, p. 149.
- ^ Burdette 2006, pp. 82–83, 302.
- ^ Garrett & Guth 2008, p. 315.
- ^ Burdette 2006, p. 75.
- ^ Burdette 2006, p. 303.
- ^ a b Garrett & Guth 2008, p. 314.
- ^ Moran 2008, p. 321.
- ^ Burdette 2006, pp. 193–195.
- ^ a b c d e Breen 1988, p. 560.
- ^ Burdette 2006, p. 197.
- ^ Garrett & Guth 2008, p. 384.
- ^ Breen 1988, pp. 558–560.
- ^ Breen 1988, p. 561.
- ^ Bowers 2004, p. 240.
- ^ a b Garrett & Guth 2008, p. 391.
- ^ Garrett & Guth 2008, pp. 391–393.
- ^ Fuljenz 2010, p. 234.
- ^ Bowers 2004, pp. 277–278.
- ^ Lange 2006, p. 165.
- ^ Garrett & Guth 2008, p. 387.
- ^ Garrett & Guth 2008, p. 393.
- ^ Fuljenz 2010, p. 235.
- ^ a b Garrett & Guth 2008, pp. 418–422.
- ^ Fuljenz 2010, p. 175.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-7948-1784-8.
- Breen, Walter (1988). Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins. New York, N.Y.: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-14207-6.
- Burdette, Roger W. (2006). Renaissance of American Coinage, 1905–1908. Great Falls, Va.: Seneca Mill Press. ISBN 978-0-9768986-1-0.
- Burdette, Roger W. (2007). Renaissance of American Coinage, 1909–1915. Great Falls, Va.: Seneca Mill Press. ISBN 978-0-9768986-2-7.
- Fuljenz, Mike (2010). Indian Gold Coins of the 20th Century. Lumberton, Tex.: Subterfuge Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9819488-9-8.
- Garrett, Jeff; Guth, Ron (2008). Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins, 1795–1933 (second ed.). Atlanta, Ga.: Whitman Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7948-2254-5.
- Lange, David W. (2006). History of the United States Mint and its Coinage. Atlanta, Ga.: Whitman Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7948-1972-9.
- Leach, Frank (1917). Recollections of a Newspaperman. San Francisco, California: S. Levinson.
- Moran, Michael F. (2008). Striking Change: The Great Artistic Collaboration of Theodore Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Atlanta, Ga.: Whitman Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7948-2356-6.
- ISBN 978-0-674-62840-3.
- OL 28306197M.
Online
- Roach, Steve (January 17, 2011). "FUN show surpasses expectations for most". Coin World. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
External links
- A guide to the Indian Head eagle – Marinaleksov