Roosevelt sought to elevate the artistic qualities of US coinage by collaborating with friend and acclaimed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to originate a new US gold eagle coin ($10 face value), and double eagle ($20).
It became the president’s personal mission to rejuvenate the image of American coinage. Beginning in November 1905 through May 1907, Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens exchanged frequent correspondence on the development of new US gold coinage.
At Roosevelt’s urging, Saint-Gaudens added a fictional Native American war bonnet to Liberty. Hence the name “Indian Head Eagle” is usually, but inaccurately, applied to this series of coins. The reverse featured a proud eagle astride a bundle of arrows, very similar to the Inaugural medal of 1905.
Thirteen stars are placed above the head in a semi-circle representing the first colonies; the word LIBERTY is on the front of the Indian headdress and E PLURIBUS UNUM is placed above the majestic eagle on the reverse side. The sides contains forty six stars.
| Year | Volume |
| 10 $10 1907 Indian Head without motto | 50 |
| 10 dollars or 1907 Indian Head without motto | 239.406 |
| 1908 Head Eagle ($10) gold coin without motto | 33.500 |
| 908-D Head Eagle ($10) gold coin without motto | 210.000 |
| 1908 Head Eagle ($10) gold coin with motto | 341.370 |
| 1908-D Head Eagle ($10) gold coin with motto | 836.500 |
| 1908-S Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 59.850 |
| 1909 Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 184.789 |
| 1909-D Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 121.540 |
| 1909-S Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 292.350 |
| 1910 Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 318.500 |
| 1910-D Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 2.356.640 |
| 1910-S Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 811.000 |
| 1911 Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 505.500 |
| 1911-D Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 30.100 |
| 1911-S Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 51.000 |
| 1912 Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 405.000 |
| 1912-S Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 300.000 |
| 1913 Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 442.000 |
| 1913-S Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 66.000 |
| 1914 Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 151.000 |
| 1914-D Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 343.500 |
| 1914-S Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 208.000 |
| 1915 Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 351.000 |
| 1915-S Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 59.000 |
| 1916-S Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 138.500 |
| 1920-S Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 126.500 |
| 1926 Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 1.014.000 |
| 1930-S Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 96.000 |
| 1932 Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 4.463.000 |
| 1933 Indian Head Eagle ($10) gold coin | 312.500 |
Two versions were minted in 1907, on both, the words of the expression on the reverse side were separated by periods. The first Indian Head Eagles struck in 1907 were of the “wire edge” variety, characterized by a sharp rim along the coin’s circumference, rather than an elevated rounded edge, which had long been the standard for U.S. coinage. The “wire edge” variety, an example of which is shown directly above, possessed 46 raised stars on its edge, symbolizing the 46 states of the Union at the time, and had periods stamped next to the E PLURIBUS UNUM motto. Because of their inability to stack well, the “wire edge” concept was abandoned. Only 500 examples of this variety were struck.
Next, a “rolled edge” was tried, consisting of a raised, rounded edge typical of rims normally formed on coins. The periods and stars were retained, resulting in weakly defined features caused by poor metal flow during the striking process. Before calling off the effort, 31,550 of the “rolled edge” variety were produced. All but 42 of them were melted down, creating a major rarity in US numismatics. The owner of a high-quality example of this variety can expect to be paid at least $400,000 at selling time.
Improved strike quality was observed after the Indian Head Eagle was retooled to remove the periods around E PLURIBUS UNUM. Mass production of the “rolled edge” no periods ten-dollar eagle began in November 1907. Before the close of the year, 239,406 of them were issued by the Mint
These 10-dollar coins from 1907 and early 1908 did not have the expression IN GOD WE TRUST. This was added in 1908 in front of the eagle. Two additional stars were added on the edge in 1912. Once again, the public reception was quite negative. People were unhappy that Liberty wore an Indian headdress instead of the traditional Phrygian bonnet. President Roosevelt had to intervene himself saying: ‘It’s complete nonsense. There is no reason why an Indian is always represented with a head of feathers and the Phrygian with a bonnet. The Indian symbolises liberty in its way. Why does Liberty’s face always appear in a conventional form? The head designed by Saint Gaudens is Liberty’s head, the American Liberty, and it perfectly acceptable that she is wearing something typically American on her head.’
The USA stopped minting gold coins in 1933. Franklin Roosevelt removed the coins from circulation and ordered banks to return them to the Treasury in order to constitute a reserve to cover the paper money. This order, made on March 6th 1933, specified that all gold imported or extracted in the USA had to be sold to the US Treasury at a price of 35 USD per ounce. However, it allowed collectors and traders to hold and exchange gold coins that had a recognized numismatic value. Read our article on this subject
The Indian Head Eagle Statistics.
| Diameter | Weight | Minted | Fineness | Designer |
| 26.8 mm | 16.718 gm | 1907-1933 | .900 Gold/.100 Copper | Augustus St. Gaudens |
Weight of gold = 16.72 x 900/1000 =15.05 grams of pure gold