1909-S Indian Head Eagle
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 292,350 made
- Mintage
- 292,350
- 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 1909-S Indian Head Eagle worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face and above their metal value. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
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 1909-S Indian Head Eagle rare?
- Yes. Only 292,350 were made, 17th lowest of the 31 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1909-S Indian Head Eagle real gold?
- No, it's gold: 0.4837 troy ounces of pure gold.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1909 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 1909 are scarcer?
- The 1911-S at 51,000, the 1908-S at 59,850, the 1913-S at 66,000, plus 1 more. So the 1909-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1909-S Indian Head Eagle coins were made?
- 292,350.
What to check on your 1909-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 1909-D (121,540 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 1909-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 1909-S
San Francisco ramped up hard in 1909: 292,350 coins, about 4.9 times the 1908 run. In 1910 the figure was 811,000.
1909-D came to 121,540 and 1909 came to 184,789, so neither mint's 1909 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1912-S (300,000) and the 1933 (312,500).
Across San Francisco's 11 Indian Head Eagle issues, the hardest to find is the 1911-S with 51,000 made. The 1909-S is one of the easier ones. Within the 1900s it's 8th smallest of 10, between the 1907 (No Periods) (239,406) and the 1908 (With Motto) (341,370).
More on the 1909-S
San Francisco led eagle production in 1909 with 292,350 coins, ahead of Philadelphia's 184,789 and Denver's 121,540. It's the only year of the three-mint period from 1909 to 1911 when San Francisco came out on top. Its total would nearly triple to 811,000 the following year.
It was also the last year of coinage at the New Orleans Mint, which left San Francisco and Denver as the only branch mints striking gold. Despite leading the year, the 1909-S is scarce in uncirculated condition. Gold coins stayed in everyday use in the West longer than in the East; San Francisco eagles tend to show it, with more wear and more marks than their Philadelphia counterparts. Look for the S to the left of the arrowheads and check the headdress feathers for detail. A worn 1909-S is worth its gold value plus a collector premium; a clean uncirculated one carries a much stronger premium. The 1909-S is a good example of how mintage alone can mislead with branch mint gold.
Steady issues and the 1911-D key (1909 to 1916)
With the motto in place, eagles were struck in most years at Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco. The 1911-D, only 30,100, is the key of the period. The 1911-S, 1913-S and 1915-S are scarce, especially well struck. Denver struck 2,356,640 in 1910, the largest branch mint total of these years.
In 1912 two more stars were added to the edge for New Mexico and Arizona, raising the count from 46 to 48. Mint marks sit on the reverse to the left of the arrowheads. Large gold coins like these picked up bag marks easily, so the cheek and the field in front of the face are the places to check. The 1916-S closed the period before World War I halted production.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1909
The Lincoln cent replaced the Indian Head cent to mark the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Designer Victor David Brenner's initials V.D.B. on the reverse were removed within days after complaints. The New Orleans Mint struck its last coins that 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 | 1909 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 292,350 |
| 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 1909 Indian Head Eagle issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 Indian Head Eagle | 184,789 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1909-D Indian Head Eagle | 121,540 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1909-S Indian Head Eagle | 292,350 | 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.