|
Although the $10 "eagle" was the largest gold coin issued under the Mint Act of
1792, it would be over forty years before most citizens would see this
"Flagship" denomination.
First minted in 1795, Congress' ill-conceived 15 to 1
Silver to Gold ratio doomed the coins and their smaller brothers to hoarding and melting from
the start. The result was inevitable. Eagle production ended in 1804, quarter eagle
mintages remained minute, and only half eagles were made in quantity, primarily for
transactions between banks. Many still succumbed to European melting.
Finally, in an
effort to return gold coins to the channels of commerce, Congress passed the Act of 1834,
changing the silver/gold ratio to 16 to 1. Almost overnight, U.S. silver coins were worth
more than the equivalent amount in gold coins.
At that point gold coins reentered circulation in abundance. The favorable price the U.S.
paid for gold vis-a-vie silver guaranteed the Mint a continuous supply of the yellow metal
that would last for years.
The California Gold Rush only fueled more production, and made
gold coins familiar across the land. But the Civil War would change all that, as it would
change everything in America, including the coins themselves.
At the beginning of the Civil War, hoarders and speculators saw to it that gold coins again
vanished from public view, including the eagle, reintroduced in 1838 after a 34-year
hiatus.
As battles raged, and one side or the other proved victorious, confidence in paper
currency quickly faded. Soon the gold eagle was worth 20 percent or more over face value
in Federal "greenbacks."
As the war progressed with casualty rates of more than
80 percent and the decimation of entire regiments the nation as a whole experienced a
spiritual revival. The somber and reflective mood of America was as deep as the scars of
the war, and it seeped into every facet of daily life.
In 1861, in a letter to Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, the Rev. M.R. Watkinson of
Ridleyville, Pa. proposed recognizing the nation's faith in the Deity on the coinage. A
religious man, Chase embraced the idea and directed Mint officials to proceed with
designs. Patterns of several denominations struck between 1861 and 1865 experimented with
various mottoes, such as "God and Our Country" or "God Our Trust." The
final selection was IN GOD WE TRUST, familiar on our coins to this day.
The new two-cent
piece received the motto in 1864, and the Coinage Act of March 3, 1865 ordered its
placement on gold and silver coins as well. It would first appear on the eagle in 1866.
The eagle issued since 1838 was the Christian Gobrecht designed Coronet Head, featuring a
neoclassic head of Liberty adorned with a coronet inscribed LIBERTY. Thirteen stars
surround the bust, with the date below. The reverse depicts an eagle holding arrows and an
olive branch, encircled by the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and TEN D. Chief
Engraver James Barton Longacre placed the new motto on a scroll over the eagle's head.
From 1866 through 1869, only Philadelphia (no mintmark) and the increasingly important
San
Francisco (S) branch struck this new design. Production began at Carson City, Nevada (CC),
in 1870 and continued through 1893. New Orleans (O) coins appeared in 1879, and the new
Denver (D) facility began mintage in 1906. (Mintmarks are found on the reverse, below the
eagle.)
The first twelve years saw especially low mintages and many later dates never exceeded
100,000.
Over the entire life of the series, only 37
dates show six-digit production, and just 10 dates saw more than one million struck.
There are five issues with mintage's below
1,000:
-
Philadelphia coins of 1873, 1875, 1876 and
1877
-
The New Orleans issue of 1883.
Proof eagles were struck in Philadelphia every year of the design. If business strike
mintages were generally small, proof production was virtually microscopic, totaling just
2,327 coins.
From 1866 through 1907, only in 1900, 1902 and 1904 did proof coinage exceed
100 pieces.
In considering the rarity of Coronet eagles with motto, it's apparent that limited
mintages went hand in hand with collector disinterest in pieces of such high face value.
Relatively few coins were struck, but there were even fewer collectors interested in gold
coins by date.
Nor is low mintage the only guide to rarity. Some dates with relatively
high figures are substantially scarcer today than their published totals might suggest.
The 1888 Eagle is a case in point. Though 132,973 business strikes were produced, the coin
is elusive in any grade and virtually unknown in mint state. With the exception of 1901-S,
and to a lesser extent, the 1901, all issues of this series are RARE in gem Uncirculated,
limiting type collectors to only the occasional appearance of other dates.
Infrequently,
one-of-a-kind superb pieces surface in "name" collections, like the amazing
1899-O or 1901-O (among many others) from the Eliasberg estate.
If few collectors sought Uncirculated eagles by date, the number seeking proof gold was
vastly smaller, with even the great 19th Century collectors showing only casual interest
in these costly coins.
The remarkable Garrett family collection was one of the few to
boast a nearly complete run of gold proofs of this era. The family's vast wealth enabled
at least two generations of Garretts to routinely order complete sets of all proof gold
denominations each year. Even so, one has a distinct feeling that the Garrett holdings
were assembled as a kind of automatic reflex action rather than a consciously savored
decision made each year.
The series contains enough major rarities to have attracted the attention of coin
alterers. Since several of the most elusive issues were struck in Philadelphia, mint mark
removal has been attempted to simulate Philadelphia strikes of 1873, 1875, 1876 and 1877.
Counterfeits also exist of other dates, many made in the Middle East. Authentication of
questionable specimens is highly recommended.
When grading this design, look for traces of wear on the top of the coronet over Liberty's
forehead, on the top of her hair and just over her eye. On the reverse, check the tips of
the eagle's wings, neck and claws. While describing the degree of wear is straightforward
enough, severe bag-marking and abrasion are major problems on many of these large and
heavy coins. Often, deep mint-frost remains, painfully highlighted by a forest of contact
tics, reeding marks and scuffing.
In 1907, the Coronet Head design was replaced by the Teddy Roosevelt-inspired and Augustus
Saint Gaudens-created Indian Head motif. It would be minted until the end of U.S. gold
coinage in 1933.
TOP
of page
Back to Precious Metals
History
|
