1911 $10 Indian Head Eagle PCGS MS62

Here’s a beautiful coin to add to your collection. This mint state offering of one of Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ masterworks can be yours for a very affordable price. The large number of graded pieces is what makes this piece more reasonable. PCGS has graded 3,781 in MS62 with 4,841 finer. Collectors Universe prices this issue at $1,750.00 in MS62.

 Unidentified Plains Cree Indians at a pow wow in Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, Canada, date unknown. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

 Saint-Gaudens took inspiration from the classical figure of Nike (Victory) when he drafted initial designs for a cent piece that was not developed further. This profile of Nike, bedecked with an olive wreath, became the obverse motif for this Eagle coin.

Roosevelt saw Saint-Gaudens' design for the eagle, and was not happy with it. He made his feelings known--and offered an artistic suggestion--in a letter to him dated November 14, 1905. Wrote Roosevelt, "...is it possible to make a Liberty with that Indian feather head-dress? ... Would the feather headdress be any more out of keeping with the rest of Liberty than the canonical Phrygian cap which is never worn by any free people in the world?"