$10 Liberty Gold Coin (AU)

In 1838, the United States started issuing what history now knows as the Liberty Gold Eagle. This coin had $10 as its face value and was the country's first gold coin of that denomination since 1804. That year, the Turban Head Gold Eagle left production. What circumstances led to the Liberty Gold Eagle?

In 1804, the then-President, Thomas Jefferson, ceased eagle production; gold had so increased in price that melting down the gold eagle coins for the contained precious metal was profitable. Over three decades passed before reviving production became sufficiently palatable.

This rose from the fact that American coins' gold content had been decreased by Congress; therefore, exporting the pieces was no longer appealing. Christian Gobrecht, who would be the U.S. Mint's third Chief Engraver from 1840 until 1844, created a new design for the revived coin. This fresh design, which started appearing on circulating coins in 1838, showed Liberty looking to the left while sporting a coronet. That headwear's tip was, in early iterations of the coin, very near one of the 13 stars that, on the obverse, represented the country's original colonies.

However, this design was later tweaked to show the tip pointing closer to directly in-between two of these stars. While, on the Liberty Gold Eagle, the reverse side did not display any motto for nearly 30 years, a motto was added for issues of the coin dated 1866 or later. That motto, reading "IN GOD WE TRUST," was added on a scroll above the eagle. That eagle was, like the eagle pictured on the Great Seal of the United States today, portrayed carrying an olive branch representative of peace and arrows, a reference to the country's ability to declare war.

This motto was added to U.S. coins of most denominations after the end of the American Civil War. That conflict waged from 1861 until 1865; during this period, the United States fought 11 of its states that had broken away to form the pro-slavery Confederate States of America. Ultimately, the Union - the states that remained loyal to the U.S. government - won the war, leading to the Confederate States' dissolution, the strengthening of the federal government and the widespread abolition of slavery around the reunited country.

In this listing, we are promoting our offering - if and when availability allows - of common date editions of the Liberty Gold Eagle. Given the long production tenure of this type of eagle, you could consider a Liberty Gold Eagle of any date to be historically significant. The Liberty Gold Eagle's production finally ended in 1907, when the Indian Head Eagle replaced it as the country's $10 gold piece. However, crucial developments during that production included the United States' rapid growth as a country and the Reconstruction Era running from 1863 until 1877.

It's not only this coin's historical significance; but also the 90 percent gold content of a Liberty Gold Eagle piece could ensure its attraction to ambitious investors and avid numismatists. Any coins that can be sourced through this listing will be in AU condition, indicating the preservation of much original mint luster.

Features of the Common Date $10 Liberty Gold Eagle AU:

• Alloyed metal including 10% copper
• 0.48375 Troy oz per Liberty gold eagle
• Face value cited as "TEN D."

Orders placed for products that are not a specific year will be fulfilled with coins of any date, based on availability. Orders of multiple coins may be filled with the same year or a variety of years.