1869 Liberty Head $10 Gold Eagle

1869 Liberty Head $10 gold eagles are extraordinarily scarce coins, since very few were made and far fewer still survive to this day. These classic old U.S. gold coins were designed by United States Mint Chief Engraver Christian Gobrecht. He is well known for having designed Seated Liberty coinage, which was struck from the late 1830s through early 1890s and remains popular with numismatists nowadays. 1869 $10 gold eagle coins contain 0.4806 ounces of gold and are often bought by bullion investors, who value these coins for their intrinsic metal content. However, the numismatic value of these rare gold coins places their value much higher than their intrinsic content alone.

Here’s a glance at the 1869 Liberty Head gold eagle $10 coin mintage figures and their values:

• 1869, 1,855 minted; $2,402

• 1869-S, 6,430; $3,069

*Values are for coins grading Very Fine 20.

The mintage figures listed above, which indeed are small, are actually significantly higher still than the number of currently existing specimens of either issue. This is the case for all pre-1933 U.S. gold coins, which have been melted in huge numbers over the years and are now scarce. For that reason, it is prudent to only buy certified examples of 1869 $10 gold eagle coins and any other pre-1933 U.S. gold coins.