Indian Head Eagle, With Motto (1908-1933) | CoinWeek

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt collaborated with renowned American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to create new designs for the $10 eagle and $20 double eagle gold coins.

The Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle design is considered by many to be the most beautiful in all of American coinage, leaving his $10 gold piece a less-appreciated second act. This is unfair, as one could also make an informed argument that the With Motto Saint-Gaudens Indian Head Eagle is one of the most beautiful designs in all of American coinage.

Saint-Gaudens’s Indian Head design for the eagle features an effigy of Liberty adorned with an intricately detailed Native American headdress. Liberty’s head was modeled in a neoclassical style referencing James Barton Longacre’s Indian Head Cent and was originally depicted wearing a laurel wreath instead of the headdress, which was added late in the process at the behest of Roosevelt. Intended to be used for the cent and possibly the double eagle, the president recommended that the design be used on the $10 gold coin instead, as he felt that Saint-Gaudens’ “Walking Liberty” design was better suited for the larger $20 gold coin.

Saint-Gaudens submitted his plasters to the Philadelphia Mint on June 1, 1907, only to have United States Mint Chief Engraver Charles Barber oppose the design on the basis that the relief was too high and the coin did not have a proper rim. On June 7, Barber informed Mint Superintendent John Landis that “the models now sent are not coin relief.”

Seriously ill from cancer, Saint-Gaudens handed the responsibility to revise the design over to his assistant, Henry Hering. Hering lowered the relief and changed the date from Roman to Arabic numerals and delivered the new models to the Mint on July 19. Mint Engraver Charles Barber made additional changes, including the rim, so that the Indian Head Eagle could be produced efficiently and in sufficient quantities for commerce.

On July 29, Roosevelt directed the Mint to produce the coins in a lower relief. He also ordered them to strike “several hundred” in high relief to “allow the collectors of the country to obtain specimens.” The high-relief versions were not offered until the regular issue coin was released. Roosevelt’s gesture to honor the contributions of the great artist came just days before Saint-Gaudens succumbed to cancer on August 3.

In late August, the Mint utilized a medal press to strike 500 high-relief Indian Head Eagles for collectors. An additional 42 were struck between September and December. The Treasury Department took delivery of the coins and distributed them to government officials and several leading coin dealers. Seventy pieces did not sell and were returned to the Mint for melting in 1915.

The rounded rim version entered production on September 13.

Upon its release, the Indian Head Eagle omitted the motto IN GOD WE TRUST, which had appeared on the previous Liberty Head Eagle design, since 1866, after the United States Congress mandated its inclusion on all coins with the Act of March 3, 1865. Many commentators attribute that omission to the sheer willpower of Teddy Roosevelt, who believed that placing religious sentiments on circulating coinage was blasphemy. On this matter, Congress rebuked the president and ordered the motto included. IN GOD WE TRUST was added to the reverse for issues produced in late 1908.

In what was perhaps a tribute to Saint-Gaudens’ artistic skills, Bela Lyon Pratt adapted Saint-Gaudens Indian Head Eagle reverse for use on his “Egyptian relief” designs for the Indian Head Quarter Eagle and Half Eagle gold coins.

Indian Head Eagles were struck from 1909-1933, though not continuously. No eagles were struck in 1917 through 1919, 1921 through 1925, 1927 through 1929, or 1931. Though over 300,000 With Motto Indian Head Eagles were minted in 1933, the last year of the type, most were melted before extensive distribution after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102 in April of that year, which severely limited the possession of gold by U.S. citizens.

How Much Are Indian Head Eagles, With Motto Worth?

Tens of thousands of business strike With Motto Indian Head Eagles have been certified as of June 2024; significantly more for 1926 and 1932, and significantly fewer for 1920-S, 1930-S, and 1933. Prices are moderate for many dates through MS62, expensive to MS64, and very expensive or extremely expensive finer. The more expensive issues, particularly in MS62 and finer, include the 1920-S (extremely expensive finer than MS63); the 1930-S (extremely expensive finer than MS65); other pieces from the San Francisco Mint; the 1911-D (extremely expensive finer than MS64); and the 1933, extremely expensive in all grades.

Proofs were struck from 1908 through 1915, and a few hundred examples have been certified. Matte Finish Proofs were struck in 1908, 1909, and 1911 through 1915; Satin Finish Proofs were made in 1908 through 1910.

All Indian Head With Motto Eagle Proofs are priced beyond the reach of all but the most affluent collectors, and competition for examples graded finer than PR65 can be fierce.

Detecting Counterfeit Indian Head Eagles

• Counterfeit Coin Detection – 1912 Indian Head $10 Gold Eagle Coin
• Counterfeit Coin Detection – 1915 Indian Head Eagle

Third-party grading service NGC has encountered numerous fake coins in its almost 40 years of history. In the articles above, the company shares some tips, gleaned from experience, on detecting counterfeit Indian Head Eagles.

Design

Obverse:

Liberty faces left on the obverse, wearing a many-feathered bonnet that displays the word LIBERTY across the front. Strands of flowing hair appear below the headdress at the forehead and across the side to the back. Thirteen six-pointed stars form an arc inside the top third of the raised rim above and slightly touching the feathers of the headdress. The date is centered at the bottom, crowding the portrait and the rim.

Reverse:

On the reverse, a majestic eagle faces left and rests on a bundle of arrows with an olive branch intertwined. Inside the raised rim is the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA at the top and the denomination TEN DOLLARS at the bottom, the words of both inscriptions separated by centered, somewhat triangular dots. At the upper right, above but touching the eagle and below OF AMERICA, is the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM, each word on a separate line; to the left of the eagle is IN GOD WE TRUST, also in three lines.

No Motto Indian Head Eagles were minted at Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco; D and S mintmarks are to the left of TEN, below the tip of the olive branch, with the bottom edge parallel to the curved rim.

Edge:

The edge of the Indian Head Eagle, With Motto is starred, with 46 raised stars through 1911 and 48 stars from 1912 forward (the stars representing the number of states in the Union at the time of issue).

Indian Head Eagle, with Motto Coin Specifications

* * *

Additional References

Bowers, Q. David. The Experts Guide to Collecting and Investing in Rare Coins. Whitman Publishing.

–. A Guide Book of United States Type Coins. Whitman Publishing.

Breen, Walter. Walter Breen’s Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins. Doubleday.

Dannreuther, John and Harry W. Bass, Jr. Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties, A Study of Die States. 1795-1834. Whitman Publishing.

Guth, Ron, and Jeff Garrett. United States Coinage: A Study by Type. Whitman Publishing.

–. Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins: 1795-1933. Whitman Publishing.

Taxay, Don. The U.S. Mint and Coinage. Arco Publishing.

Yeoman, R.S., and Jeff Garrett (editor). The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins. Whitman Publishing.
 

* * *