1909 Indian Head Eagle
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 184,789 made
- Mintage
- 184,789
- 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 Indian Head Eagle worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1909 is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
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 Indian Head Eagle rare?
- Yes. Only 184,789 were made, 13th lowest of the 31 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1909 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.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1909 are scarcer?
- The 1907 (Rolled Edge, Periods) at 42, the 1908 (No Motto) at 33,500, the 1914 at 151,000. So the 1909 is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1909 Indian Head Eagle coins were made?
- 184,789.
What to check on your 1909
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- 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 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 date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1909
Output at Philadelphia slipped to 184,789 in 1909, from 341,370 the year before. In 1910 the figure was 318,500.
1909-D came to 121,540 and 1909-S came to 292,350, so neither mint's 1909 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1914-S (208,000) and the 1908-D (No Motto) (210,000).
Across Philadelphia's 14 Indian Head Eagle issues, the hardest to find is the 1907 (Rolled Edge, Periods) with 42 made. The 1909 is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 1900s it's 5th smallest of 10, between the 1909-D (121,540) and the 1908-D (No Motto) (210,000).
More on the 1909
Philadelphia struck 184,789 eagles in 1909, fewer than San Francisco's 292,350 but more than Denver's 121,540. Philadelphia trailed a branch mint again in 1910 and 1914, so it wasn't always the leading producer of this coin. Its total would climb to 318,500 the next year.
Philadelphia was busy with new designs that year. Bela Lyon Pratt's Indian Head quarter eagle and half eagle, with their unusual sunken designs, were in their second year of production alongside this Saint-Gaudens eagle, while the new Lincoln cent arrived in 1909 as well. The 1909 is a reasonably available date in circulated and lower uncirculated grades. Its value starts with the gold it contains and adds a collector premium that rises with condition. Check the cheek and the feathers of the headdress for wear. Look for bag marks in the field in front of the face too. There should be no mint mark beside the arrowheads on the reverse.
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 | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 184,789 |
| 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.