$10 Gold Indian Coin

A Rare and Historic Coin

When Franklin D. Roosevelt first confiscated and then melted down privately owned gold coins in the years leading up to 1933, he destroyed many of the coins whose mintages would eventually command great interest from collectors. This coin—the $10 gold Indian coin—in particular, was affected. Experts believe only 10 percent of its original mintage has survived to the present.

The nominal value of the coin is guaranteed by the U.S. government, but its actual gold content of .48375 Troy oz. renders it far more valuable than $US10. 

Coins from the Golden Age of European Monetary Stability

These gold coins represent the last redesign of the US $10 gold eagle series of coins that were first issued in 1795. Famed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens crafted the images in 1907 for both the obverse (front) and reverse sides of the coin. The coins were produced each year until 1916, after which the coins were irregularly minted until 1933. 

An Elegant Lady with Unusual Headgear

Lady Liberty

The president (Teddy Roosevelt) himself asked Saint-Gaudens to take the unusual step of adding a Native American headdress to Lady Liberty for this version of the American Eagle coin. Roosevelt did so in order to include something, “distinctly American, and very picturesque.” Mission accomplished. Not everyone was enamored of the design, but it is distinctive and exquisitely rendered—in which regard Saint-Gaudens never disappoints. The headdress features the word “LIBERTY” across the front band, and the date of the coin’s mintage is stamped at the bottom. Thirteen stars to represent the original thirteen colonies are arced across the top of the coin.

American Bald Eagle

For this version of America’s national symbol, Saint-Gaudens designed a standing eagle clutching a sheaf of arrows and an olive branch in its talons. “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” is arced across the top of the coin, “TEN DOLLARS” across the bottom. “E PLURIBUS UNUM” is stamped above the eagle’s back, and “IN GOD WE TRUST” in front of his chest.

A Question of Where

The only 1920s-dated Indian Eagle struck at the Philadelphia Mint was the 1926 coin.

Quirky—and Quintessential

Because of their rarity, these coins will always be in demand. And perhaps no other coin is as American in its unusual attributes as this coin is. A Greco-Roman woman sporting a Native American headdress with the very American concept of Liberty inscribed on it. Thirteen British colonies are represented, along with the nation’s powerful mascot ready for war or peace. Trusting in God while forming one nation from many peoples. None of this was particularly remarkable at the time of the coin’s minting. Perhaps that is of great value, as well.