Indian Head Eagle Values & Mintages

Grading tips

Check the feathers above Liberty's eye and the eagle's wing. Gold is soft, so bag marks on the cheek strongly affect the grade.

A design born from Roosevelt's campaign

Saint-Gaudens worked on the eagle while seriously ill and died in August 1907, before regular production began. Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber adapted the design for mass production, lowering the relief so it would strike properly in one blow. The Liberty head with its feathered headdress was the sculptor's own adaptation, made at Roosevelt's suggestion. The standing eagle on the reverse resembles one Saint-Gaudens had created for Roosevelt's inaugural medal of 1905.

Roosevelt disliked putting the name of God on money, which he saw as irreverent, so the original coins left out IN GOD WE TRUST. Congress disagreed and required the motto, which appears from mid-1908 to the left of the eagle.

Stars on the edge and the 1907 varieties

Instead of reeding, the edge carries raised stars for the states. Coins from 1907 to 1911 have 46 stars. In 1912 two more were added for New Mexico and Arizona, bringing the count to 48. Counting the stars is a quick way to confirm an early or late coin.

The 1907 coins exist in three forms. The Wire Rim and Rolled Rim versions have periods before and after the inscriptions. The regular No Periods version was made for circulation. The first two are scarce and highly prized.

The late rarities

Besides the 1933, the 1920-S and 1930-S are the key dates of the series. Large parts of their mintages were melted after the gold recall, so far fewer survive than their mintages suggest.

Frequently asked questions