1908-S Indian Head Eagle
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 59,850 made
- Mintage
- 59,850
- Metal
- 90% gold, 10% copper
- Weight
- 16.718 g
- Diameter
- 27 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1908-S Indian Head Eagle worth?
Few coins in the series are harder to find. Even a worn 1908-S sells well above face value. The flip side is that counterfeits and altered dates are common, so authentication matters.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1908-S Indian Head Eagle rare?
- Yes. Only 59,850 were made, 6th lowest of the 31 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1908-S Indian Head Eagle real gold?
- No, it's gold: 0.4837 troy ounces of pure gold.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1908 Indian Head Eagle?
- On the reverse, to the left of the arrow points. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1908 are scarcer?
- The 1911-S at 51,000. So the 1908-S is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1908-S Indian Head Eagle coins were made?
- 59,850.
What to check on your 1908-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1908 (33,500 made).
- Count the stars on the edge. Eagles dated 1907 to 1911 have 46 raised stars, one for each state at the time. A coin with this date and 48 stars is not genuine.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Judge the grade under good light. 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.
Gold coins are counterfeited more than any other US coins. A genuine 1908-S weighs 16.718 g and measures 27 mm. Buy certified examples from a reputable dealer. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1908-S
This was the first time San Francisco made the Indian Head Eagle for circulation: 59,850 coins. The next year it made 292,350 (1909-S).
The other mints made far more that year: 1908-D alone came to 836,500, roughly 14 for every 1908-S. If you're checking a pile of 1908 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1915-S (59,000) and the 1913-S (66,000).
Only the 1911-S and the 1915-S have a lower mintage among San Francisco's 11 Indian Head Eagles. Within the 1900s it's 3rd smallest of 10, between the 1908 (No Motto) (33,500) and the 1909-D (121,540).
Saint-Gaudens's eagle and the motto debate (1907 to 1908)
Augustus Saint-Gaudens designed the Indian Head eagle at Theodore Roosevelt's request. The first coins were struck in 1907. Early pieces with periods around the reverse legend come with a wire rim or a rolled rim and are rare. The regular 1907 issue, 239,406 struck, has no periods.
Roosevelt disliked religious mottoes on coins and the 1907 design omitted IN GOD WE TRUST. Congress ordered it restored on May 18, 1908. Later 1908 coins show the motto to the left of the eagle. The 1908 no motto from Philadelphia had 33,500 struck and the 1908-D no motto 210,000, while the with motto coins of that year are more common. The edge carries 46 raised stars instead of reeding, one for each state at the time.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1908
Congress ordered the motto "In God We Trust" restored to US gold coins in May 1908, so both the double eagle and the eagle come in "No Motto" and "With Motto" types this year.
How to recognize it
Augustus Saint-Gaudens' $10 gold piece shows Liberty in a feathered headdress inscribed LIBERTY, with 13 stars above and the date below. The reverse shows a standing eagle on a bundle of arrows with an olive branch. The edge has raised stars: 46 until 1911 and 48 from 1912. IN GOD WE TRUST was added to the reverse field in 1908. The mint mark is to the left of the arrows.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Indian Head Eagle (1907–1933) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1908 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 59,850 |
| Face value | $10 |
| Composition | 90% gold, 10% copper |
| Weight | 16.718 grams |
| Diameter | 27 mm |
| Edge | Raised stars (46, then 48 from 1912) |
| Designer | Augustus Saint-Gaudens |
Other 1908 Indian Head Eagle issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 Indian Head Eagle (No Motto) | 33,500 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1908 Indian Head Eagle (With Motto) | 341,370 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1908-D Indian Head Eagle (No Motto) | 210,000 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1908-D Indian Head Eagle (With Motto) | 836,500 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1908-S Indian Head Eagle | 59,850 | Circulation strike | – |
Mintage: Indian Head eagle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.