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Early $10 Eagles, 1795-1804
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Early Eagle $10 Gold Pieces, 1795-1804
Early Eagles were designed by Robert Scot and only issued from 1795 to 1804. The Eagle was struck in two major Varieties:
1795-1797 Small Eagle Reverse Type
1797-1804 Heraldic Eagle Reverse Type
Even though the denomination was to be the nation's monetary unit, it proved to be inconvenient for international bank transactions and was never really popular in daily commerce, due its size and face value. In fact, bankers preferred most foreign coins since they were still legal tender but more familiar to them as monetary units, even more familiar than our Federal coinage. To make matters worse, Thomas Jefferson ordered the mintage of the Eagle halted after it was learned that bullion dealers were melting the early silver and gold coins, only to turn the bullion at a profit. As a result, many of these early "eagles" were destroyed and forever lost to the numismatic community.
A basic set would consist of ten different collectible coins, but there are actually 19 different Varieties and Types in the series, plus a single well-known Proof issue of which four are traced, the 1804. Those coins that are least encountered include the 1795 9 Leaves Variety, the 1797 Small Eagle Reverse and both 1798 over 7 Varieties.
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