1859 Liberty Head $10 Gold Eagle

1859 Liberty Head $10 gold eagles are widely considered as scarce coins as relatively few pieces were originally made, especially in the case of the 1859 New Orleans (O) mint issue. These classic U.S. gold coins were designed by United States Mint Chief Engraver Christian Gobrecht, who was the third individual to serve in that role. In addition to creating the design on 1859 Liberty Head eagles coins, Gobrecht designed Seated Liberty coinage, which was made from the late 1830s through early 1890s and remains popular with numismatists nowadays.

1859 $10 gold eagle coins contain 0.4806 ounces of gold. While valued for their intrinsic gold content, these coins are also highly prized as numismatic collectibles and are worth considerably more than their gold value alone. Here’s an overview of the 1859 Liberty Head gold eagle $10 coin mintage figures and values:

• 1859, 16,093 minted; $1,581

• 1859-O, 2,300; $6,000

• 1859-S, 7,000; $3,690

*Values are for coins grading Very Fine 20.

Beware buying any 1859 gold $10 eagles, especially the rare New Orleans issue. That piece is often counterfeited and therefore should not be bought as a “raw” coin. This is the safest approach to buying any pre-1933 U.S. gold coins, which are by and large rare. Coin buyers should stick to purchasing certified coins slabbed by widely known third-party coin grading companies.