1797 $10 Draped Bust, Small Eagle NGC AU Details - 50 to 60 Known!

This Small Eagle 1797 $10 is an iconic and historic Issue. David Akers writes, "...the 1797 Small Eagle is nearly twice as rare as the 1796 and almost four times as rare as the 1795. ... I feel that this is one of the most underrated of the early...Eagles." Specialists in Early American gold coinage should carefully review this listing.

Ron Guth shares some interesting history about this issue and the strange placement of the stars upon it.

Ten Dollar Gold coins (or "Eagles") were produced by the U.S. Mint beginning in 1795. Initially, the coins bore fifteen stars, one for each of the United States (Vermont and Kentucky had been admitted to the original thirteen). In 1796, the number of stars rose to sixteen following the admission of Tennessee into the Union. Unfortunately, the increased number of stars forced unusual demands on the engravers; i.e. how to fit the stars neatly into the dies. A neat arrangement of 8 stars on the left and 8 stars on the right appeared on the 1796 Eagle, made possible by moving the word "LIBERTY" farther to the left over and above Miss Liberty's turban. However, in 1797, the engravers moved the word LIBERTY back to its original position (in front of the cap), leaving insufficient space on the right side of the coin for eight stars. On this variety in particular, we see an unusual (and unique) arrangement of twelve stars crowded on the left side and only four on the right! Many examples of this variety exhibit a die crack on the obverse from the edge just beyond the sixteenth star. It is entirely possible that this unusual arrangement occurred when the engraver noticed the die beginning to crack right where he wanted to place his final star, forcing him to relocate it just to the left of the date. In 1798, the Mint decided to revert back to 13 stars and, in 1799, settled finally on an arrangement of 8 stars on the left side and 5 on the right.