10 US dollars coins

The 10 US dollars, made of gold, started to be minted in 1795, although the government planned their issue for 1792. However, the economic situation in the country was the reason to delay the issue for three years. The gold coins of this face value for internal circulation were minted until 1933, changing the design sometimes. The coins of the following periods were mostly collectible and bullion. All 10 Dollars US gold coins in our catalog.

10 US dollar gold coins

10 US dollars of 1795-1838

• Obverse: portrait of a woman in a turban symbolizing freedom; inscription “LIBERTY”; year of minting; stars.
• Reverse: bald eagle spreading its wings with a laurel wreath in his beak and a branch in the clutches; inscription “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”.
• Edge: reeded
• Composition: 90 % Au
• Weight: 17.5 g
• Diameter: 33 mm

1795 year of minting

10 US dollars of 1838-1865

• Obverse: profile of a woman with a bandage on her head and the inscription “LIBERTY” on it; year of minting; stars.
• Reverse: bald eagle spreading his wings, his head turned to left; laurel twig and three arrows in his clutches; shield on the chest; inscription “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”; face value “TEN D.”.
• Edge: reeded
• Composition: 90 % Au
• Weight: 16.72 g
• Diameter: 27 mm

1839 year of minting

10 US dollars of 1866-1907

• Obverse: profile of a woman with a bandage on her head and the inscription “LIBERTY” on it; year of minting; stars.
• Reverse: bald eagle spreading his wings, his head turned to left; laurel twig and three arrows in his clutches; shield on the chest; inscription “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”; face value “TEN D.”.
• Edge: reeded
• Composition: 90 % Au.
• Weight: 16.72 g
• Diameter: 27 mm

1866 year of minting

10 US dollars of 1907-1933

• Obverse: profile of a young woman in a traditional Indian headdress with the inscription “LIBERTY”; 13 stars; year of minting at the very bottom.
• Reverse: bald eagle standing on an arrow, braided by a laurel branch, looking to the left; inscription “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”; denomination “TEN DOLLARS” at the very bottom; inscription “E PLURIBUS UNUM” near the head.
• Edge: reeded
• Composition: 90 % Au
• Weight: 16,7 g
• Diameter: 26,8 mm
• Thickness: 2,03 mm

1913 year of minting

10 Dollars 1910 US gold coin in our catalog.

10 US dollars from the American Golden Eagle series 1986-2018

• Obverse: woman stepping on the Capitol Hill with a torch and a laurel twig in her hands; rising sun on the background; inscription “LIBERTY”; stars symbolizing the American states; year of minting.
• Reverse: family of bald eagles that symbolize the unity of the United States; inscription “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”; inscription “1/4 OZ. FINE GOLD – 10 DOLLARS” at the very bottom; inscriptions “E PLURIBUS UNUM” and “IN GOD WE TRUST” to the left and right.
• Edge: reeded
• Composition: 90 % Au + 10 % Cu
• Weight: 8.483 g
• Diameter: 22 mm
• Thickness: 1.78 mm

1992 year of minting

10 Dollars 1994 US gold coin in our catalog.

10 US dollars from the American Buffalo series 2006-2018

• Obverse: profile of an Indian (native US citizen); inscription “LIBERTY”; year of minting and the brands of the mint and engraver.
• Reverse: buffalo standing sideways; inscriptions “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM”; denomination “$ 10” and composition “1/4 OZ. .9999 FINE GOLD”; inscription “IN GOD WE TRUST”.
• Edge: reeded
• Composition: 999,9 Au
• Weight: 7.7759 g
• Diameter: 22 mm

2008 year of minting

10 US dollars of the First Lady series 2007-2018

• Obverse: First Lady of the United States; her name, period of her stay in this status and serial number; inscription “IN GOD WE TRUST” to the left and “LIBERTY” to the right; year of minting; mintmark.
• Reverse: hand lighting a candle; inscription “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” at the top and “E PLURIBUS UNUM * $ 10 * 1/2 OZ. .9999 FINE GOLD” at the bottom.
• Composition: 999,9 Au
• Weight: 15,554 g
• Diameter: 26,5 mm

2014 year of minting

10 US dollar coins Platinum Eagle 1997-2018

• Obverse: woman symbolizing freedom; inscription “LIBERTY”; year of minting and inscription “IN GOD WE TRUST” to the right;; inscription “E PLURIBUS UNUM” to the left.
• Reverse: flying bald eagle flying; rising sun on the background; inscription “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “.9995 PLATINUM 1/10 OZ.”; denomination “$ 10”.
• Composition: 999,5 platinum
• Weight: 3.112 g
• Diameter: 16.5 mm
• Thickness: 0.95 mm

1997 year of minting

Emissions

In the period from 1795 to 1933 all coins of this denomination were in circulation and served as a legal tender, therefore their emission was quite high. Today, such coins made of precious metals are bullion or collectible. As a rule, the number of copies today varies depending on the demand.

Here’s how the emissions of ten-dollar coins varied in different periods:

• gold coins of 1795-1838 – 135,000 pieces;
• gold coins of 1838-1907 – 40,000,000 pieces;
• gold coins of 1907-1933 – 13,000,000 pieces;
• coins of the “American golden eagle” series are produced in large circulations from 143,605 to 1,505,026 copies;
• gold “American Buffalo” coins are minted in the sets in small circulations of several thousand copies;
• platinum coins of 1997-2018: in 1997 – 70,250 copies were issued (the maximum circulation of 55,995 copies was in 1999, and the minimum circulation was 11,001 in 2006). All US gold coins in our catalog.

Design

Different artists-engravers worked on each type of coins of this denomination, beginning in 1795. That fact significantly affected the style of coins:

• gold coins of 1795-1838 – Robert Scott;
• gold coins of 1838-1907 – Christian Gobrecht;
• gold coins of 1907-1933 – Augustus Saint-Gaudens;
• coins of the series Golden Eagle of 1986-2018 – Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Miley Buzick;
• gold coins American Buffalo of 2006-2018 – James Earl Fraser;
• gold coins First Lady of 2014 – Chris Costello, Phoebe Hempfil, Renata Gordon;
• platinum coins LIBERTY of 1997 – Thomas D. Rogers.

All 1797-2017 Republic US gold coins in our catalog.

Mints

The main mint was located in Philadelphia, but along with it some small circulations were produced by the mints in other American cities:

1. coins of 1795-1838– Philadelphia;
2. coins of 1838-1907 – Philadelphia, Denver, New Orleans, Carson City, San Francisco;
3. coins of 1907-1933:

• 1907-1915, 1926, 1935-1933 – Philadelphia;
• 1908, 1910-1911, 1914 – Denver;
• 1910-1920, 1930 – San Francisco.

The modern coins of this denomination of various series are minted mostly by the mint of West Point.

Some mints, put their brand:

• Carson City – “CC”;

• Denver – “D”;

• San Francisco – “S”;

• West Point – “W”;

• New Orleans – “O”.

The cost of these coins on the market

When it comes to coins made of gold, that had been issued decades and even hundreds years ago, you must take into account many factors to estimate their real value:

• quality of minting;
• emission;
• rareness;
• condition at the time of purchase/sale (Very Fine, Extremely Fine, About Uncirculated);

• purity of gold (fineness);
• cost of 1 troy ounce of gold on world exchanges.

On average, the price of 10 gold US dollars in the period of 1795-1933 can range from
$ 500 to $ 1,600

• 1881 – $ 615;
• 1892 – $ 1,600;
• 1894 – $ 692-750;
• 1896 – $ 1,500;
• 1897 – $ 650-719.99;
• 1899 – $ 657;
• 1903 – $ 800;
• 1907 – $ 775;
• 1910 – $ 795-925;
• 1914 – $ 1,175-1,200;
• 1926 – $ 775;
• 1930 – $ 780;
• 1932 – $ 775.

The coins of 1860 and 1875 are the rarest and most expensive. They were issued in small circulations and it is difficult to find them on the world exchanges and auctions today.

The modern coins are not cheaper than the old ones. Their price is much higher than their actual nominal value:

• 10 dollars platinum Liberty coin – $ 87,283;
• 10 dollars gold American Eagle coin – $ 319.76-404;
• 10 dollars gold “American Buffalo coin – $ 318.38-1,641;
• 10 dollars gold coin series First Lady – $ 799-821.

Interesting facts

• In 1907, the minting of a new type of 10-dollar gold coins began. For a widespread introduction and in order to save money, old-style coins were withdrawn from circulation and went for smelting.
• The remaining ten-dollar gold coins of the USA of 1914 have a pretty good condition because they were sent from the Philadelphia mint to Denver and then to Europe for the safety of the gold fund at the beginning of the Great Depression. After the economic collapse and World War I, the coins were returned to America. Today they are a subject of interest for private collectors, and their value grows every year.
• The design of coins of the third type, minted between 1907 and 1933, was created by the famous American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The 26th American president, Theodore Roosevelt, personally gave this assignment.

• Theodore Roosevelt considered the ten dollar gold coins with the inscription “IN GOD WE TRUST” “godless” because of the mention of the name of the Lord on the reverse, which was a sacrilege for him. On the coin of 1907, this phrase is missing, but the US Congress unanimously approved this phrase, and it has been included in the design since 1908.
• The bald eagle, depicted on the reverse of ten-dollar gold coins of all types, is a heraldic symbol of the United States of America.
• The coins of 1933 are the rarest in the group of coins of 1907-1933 because most of them were melted down. Their worth and popularity among collectors-numismatists are confirmed by the fact that these coins were sold for a total of 700,000 US dollars at the open auctions in 2004.
• It is interesting that an Indian in a traditional headdress made of feathers is depicted on five-dollar gold coins of 1907-1929, and a young woman in the same headgear is depicted on 10 US dollars of 1907-1933 from gold.
• In 1995, the head of the United States Mint, Philip N. Deel, president of the American Numismatic Association David L. Ganz, and executive director of Platinum Guild International, Jacques Lyuben, began the process of creating platinum coins. After two years of work, in 1997, they were issued in denominations of 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 troy ounce and were made from 0.9995 fine platinum.