1911-S Indian Head Eagle
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 51,000 made
- Mintage
- 51,000
- 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 1911-S Indian Head Eagle worth?
Few coins in the series are harder to find. Even a worn 1911-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 1911-S Indian Head Eagle rare?
- Yes. Only 51,000 were made, 4th lowest of the 31 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1911-S Indian Head Eagle real gold?
- No, it's gold: 0.4837 troy ounces of pure gold.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1911 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 1911 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no San Francisco issue had a smaller mintage than the 1911-S.
- How many 1911-S Indian Head Eagle coins were made?
- 51,000.
What to check on your 1911-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 1911-D (30,100 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 1911-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 1911-S
Production at San Francisco fell off a cliff in 1911. Only 51,000 were made, against 811,000 the year before. That drop is why the 1911-S is the one people look for. The next year it made 300,000 (1912-S).
The other mints made far more that year: 1911 alone came to 505,500, roughly 9.9 for every 1911-S. If you're checking a pile of 1911 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 1908-S (59,850).
Of the 11 Indian Head Eagles San Francisco struck between 1908 and 1930, this is the scarcest. Among the 1910s issues, only the 1911-D had a smaller run.
More on the 1911-S
San Francisco's 51,000 eagles of 1911 are second only to the 1911-D for scarcity that year. They amount to a tenth of Philadelphia's 505,500 and a small fraction of San Francisco's own 811,000 from 1910.
The 1911-S is less famous than the Denver coin but still a scarce date that carries a collector premium in any grade. It was San Francisco's last eagle with the 46-star edge; the 1912-S that followed had 48. Survivors are mostly circulated or in lower uncirculated grades. Sharply struck coins with clean cheeks are hard to find. Check the S to the left of the arrowheads, then count the edge stars as a quick authenticity check. Because a Philadelphia 1911 is so much more common, an added S is a real risk, so compare the mint mark with a certified example. A worn 1911-S sells well above its gold value; an uncirculated example with good luster is a significant rarity in the series.
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.
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 | 1911 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 51,000 |
| 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 1911 Indian Head Eagle issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 Indian Head Eagle | 505,500 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1911-D Indian Head Eagle | 30,100 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1911-S Indian Head Eagle | 51,000 | 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.