U.S. Heritage Coins

Hottest Auction
1874 Indian Princess Head Gold $1 Dollar TYPE 1 - RARE US $202.50 (20 Bids) End Date: Sunday Feb-05-2012 7:04:43 PST Bid now | Add to watch list

The Ten Dollar Indian gold coins came about from a collaborate effort between the President Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Theodore Roosevelt, being unhappy with the Inaugural medal, designed by earlier U.S. Mint engravers, wanted to design something that was more innovative. Saint-Gaudens accepted the task but because of his busy schedule, he delegated the actual work to be performed by his associate, Adolph Weinman. He started by fashioning different images of the $10 Indian Gold in both full figure and bust views and eagles in motion. Saint-Gaudens actually preferred the bust of Liberty and the standing eagle for use on the twenty dollar coin but after collaborating with the President the combination found itself on the $10 Indian Head gold coin instead. Roosevelt insisted the crown be replaced with a feathered war bonnet forever giving the ten dollar Indian coin its nickname. The word Liberty is inscribed on the Indian headdress. Above her head are 13 stars with the date appearing below. The reverse side of the coin shows the eagle standing on a bundle of arrows with the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM inscribed to his right. The words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA appears above the eagle while beneath the words TEN DOLLARS denote the denomination. The first $10 Indian Head gold coins were minted with “Wire Edge” pieces that do not have the raised rim that is traditionally seen on U.S. coins. Five hundred were struck and they included 46 raised stars to symbolize the 46 states in addition to one plain-edge satin proof. The wire edges ended up being impractical though because the coins would not stack. With some modifications, a rolled edge issue was minted instead. At first the $10 indian head gold coin did not include the motto IN GOD WE TRUST, since Roosevelt felt it was blasphemous, but at the insistence of Congress, the motto returned to the coins during the next issuance of the coins. Regular issues of the Indian Head Ten Dollar coin were in production at all 3 of the mints from 1911 until1914. In 1912, 1913 and 1915 only Philadelphia and San Francisco mints were striking the coins. During 1916 and 1920 only San Francisco minted the coins. According to U.S. Mint records, nearly 13,070,583 Ten Dollar Indian head coins were minted, including proofs. These figures can be misleading though since many of the 1920-S, 1930-S and 1933 coins were melted. However, all $10 Indians Gold coins are quite rare, including the most popular 1926 and 1932 production.