|
Sale 74
|
|
press UP arrow key to increase the zoom ratio.
press DOWN arrow key to decrease the zoom ratio.
press RIGHT arrow key to increase the zoom window size.
press LEFT arrow key to decrease the zoom window size.
|
|
Lot 1688
1908. With Motto. NGC graded Proof 66. Only 116 matte Proofs struck. Those who have never made an acquaintance with a Matte Proof Indian Eagle are in for a treat. This is an example of the Type after the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was restored to the $10 denomination. There had been a two-year hiatus where this and the $20 gold piece made no mention of the unofficial national motto. In the first year the Mint sold Proofs of the new Indian motif to collectors, the matte finish in this large $10 format is moderately sandblasted. With a glass, we are yet to find a single fault on the portrait of Liberty or the feathers of the eagle; everywhere is pristine, indeed as made, for all intents and purposes, and therefore virtually perfect. This, the Proof 66 of Proof 66s, is grade for grade one of the more impressive coins around, one which stands on the shoulders of most all others in its class. Do not fear winding up your voice to a loud tone when delivering your bid to the auctioneer. He may not look it but he's sometimes a little deaf.
The mint struck and sold very few Proofs of this denomination gold coin in 1908. All were made with the IN GOD WE TRUST motto on the reverse below the eagle's breast. Congress had listened to the criticism given the 1907 No Motto coins and had taken action, albeit delayed, over the objection of President Roosevelt who was the man responsible for eliminating the motto in the first place. By 1908, the designer Augustus Saint-Gaudens was gone to a higher calling. He played no part in the proceedings. This piece very closely resembles the lower denomination Proofs of 1908, $2.50 and $5, as well as the $20 gold higher denomination, which have a coarse-grain sandblast surface. Even though these are deeper in hue than seen on 1909 and 1910 issues, there is a considerable sparkle in the sandblast texture that is visible when under a low-power magnifying glass. It is understood that when "Matte" or "Sand-blast" Proofs as they are called are first struck, they resemble more than anything the satin finish of the 1909 and 1910 issues. Then the mint, in a separate process abraded the surface using a fine sandblast process which gives the final coin its almost otherworldly beauty and stature. Pop 15; 11 in 67, 2 in 68 (PCGS # 8890) .
Augustus Saint-Gaudens' so-called "Indian" Head Eagles are more properly a concoction of his creative genius having to mold itself to the political realities of coin design. Hear some of Walter Breen's ascerbic commentary on how this special coin came into being: "For the new eagle design, Augustus St. Gaudens (in consultation with Pres. Theodore Roosevelt) decided to use not a standing figure but a head, feeling that the heroic effect of any standing figure, as chosen for the double eagle, would be lost in smaller diameter. The President disgusted beyond measure at what he called our 'atrociously hideous' coinage, had asked St. Gaudens to design replacements.
The profile St. Gaudens chose originated in a figure of Nike ('Victory'), part of his Gen. Sherman Monument (1905), ultimately inspired by a Hellenistic Wingless Victory on the temple of Zeus Soter. at Pergamon. At Pres. Roosevelt's insistence, and for no other reason, St. Gaudens gave this head a nationalistic character by the absurd addition of a feathered war bonnet, such as neither Ms. Liberty nor any Native American woman would have ever worn."
Estimated Value $40,000 - 45,000.
|
| |
| Realized $62,100 |
|
