Simply a masterpiece of numismatic art. There is no other way to describe the design upon—and the coin itself—Saint Gaudens’ Indian Head Eagle. Compared to the earlier low-mintage issues also dated 1907, this is a much more affordable option. 1907 was the initial year of this ever-popular series, and those collectors who seek a type coin do their best to acquire a first-year issue.

The obverse design is a true collaboration between Augustus Saint-Gaudens and President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt used his bully pulpit with the artist, insisting on adding the Indian feather headdress to make the coin iconically American. PCGS has graded 2,075 as MS63 with 1,615 finer. In CAC there are 81 in MS63 with 300 finer.

 President Theodore Roosevelt, who collaborated with Saint-Gaudens during his presidency on the creation of the $10 gold eagle (as well as the $20 double eagle coin). He spoke eloquently in a memorial speech honoring the artist after his passing.

After his death, Theodore Roosevelt honored Augustus Saint-Gaudens as an artist and friend by saying in a 1908 memorial speech that his double eagle and eagle were “more beautiful than any coins since the days of the Greeks, and they achieve their striking beauty because Saint-Gaudens not only possessed a perfect mastery in the physical address of his craft, but also a daring and original imagination.”

In a thank you letter to Roosevelt, Saint-Gaudens’ widow, Augusta, wrote, “Such a tribute from you would, I know, have meant much to him especially the recognition of his labor on the coins into which he put his whole heart. Your presence with Mrs. Roosevelt gave to the memorial a character and meaning which without you it could not have happened and I hardly know how to thank you both for this expression of your friendliness now that he is gone.”