MELT VALUES / GOLD
$10 Gold Eagle (–1933)
Melt value now SNAPSHOT
$2,229
222.9× face value
Designer
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (Indian Head, 1907); Christian Gobrecht (Liberty)
Years struck
1795–1933
Mints
Philadelphia, New Orleans (O), San Francisco (S), Carson City (CC), Denver (D)
Saint-Gaudens' Liberty wears a Native war bonnet — Theodore Roosevelt's personal request.
THE STORY
Theodore Roosevelt called American coinage 'atrocious hideousness' and hired the greatest sculptor of the age to fix it. Saint-Gaudens' eagle — and the standing Liberty in a feathered bonnet — was the result, struck from 1907 until gold coinage died in 1933. The eagle was the denomination the dollar was defined against: $20.67 per ounce, until 1933 revalued the world.
Early 1907 eagles omitted 'In God We Trust' — Roosevelt considered the motto on money blasphemous. Congress overruled him within a year.
KEY DATES WORTH REAL MONEY
Check these before treating any gold piece as melt.
| 1920-S | Vault-melted into rarity — six figures |
| 1933 | 312,500 struck, ~40 known — almost the entire mintage went to the furnaces |
| 1907 Wire Rim | 500 pieces of the original high-relief concept |
Think you have one? Check recent auction records before selling — and read our grading basics first.
SPECIFICATIONS
Grading: where wear shows first
Wear first on the cheek and the eagle's wing. Saint-Gaudens eagles in true mint state glow - luster is the grade.
Never clean a coin. Ever. Cleaning permanently destroys collector value — dark original toning is worth more than shiny damage.
Counterfeit check
Counterfeited for a century. Weight 16.718 g; edge-star detail is a quick tell on fakes.
Gear that settles it: an electromagnetic verifier, a calibrated scale and calipers — counterfeit basics.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ACTUALLY ASK
Why does my $10 Indian have no 'In God We Trust'?
1907-1908 issues omitted it at Theodore Roosevelt's insistence - he thought the motto on money was sacrilege. Congress restored it in 1908. Both types are collected.
Coin image: Wikimedia Commons — Public domain — US Mint (coin), National Numismatic Collection (photograph by Jaclyn Nash).
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