1849/849 $10 (1849/849 Eagle) NGC AU58. This rare variety, repunched date 1849/849 Eagle is tied for second finest at NGC. The coin shows just a trace of wear on its highest points, and surfaces that, for the grade, are original and clean with no major distractions. Mint luster peeks out from within the devices. The strike is above average, especially so on the reverse with full details seen on the eagle’s neck, the area to the lower left of the shield, and on the dentils of both sides. The date shows double punching on the 8, 4, and 9.

Between 1805, when President Thomas Jefferson ordered mintage of gold eagles stopped, and 1837 no gold eagles were made. Coinage was of this denomination was resumed with Christian Gobrecht’s Coronet Liberty Head eagle. The size, weight, and fineness were reduced so that the coins were not intrinsically worth more than their denominated value.

The coin shows Liberty facing left in profile wearing a LIBERTY inscribed coronet with her hair tied in the back in beads. Two long curls hang down her neck, one in the back and the other on the side. She is surrounded with thirteen six-pointed stars. The date is below the truncation, which shows no drapery. The motif is taken from a Benjamin West painting of Venus. It was also used with modifications for the Large Cents of 1839. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle with outstretched wing looking to the left. On its chest is the Union shield. In its talons it holds the olive branch and arrows. The error in the previous issue, Scot’s eagle held the arrows and the olive branches in the wrong talons, is corrected. Except for the tips of the eagle’s wings UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the reverse, separated from the denomination TEN D. by dots. Dentils are near the edge on both sides of the coin, and the edge is reeded.

In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for the Mint as an assistant to Engraver William Kneass. After Kneass suffered a debilitating stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work for the Mint. He became Chief Engraver in 1840 and served until his death in 1844. He was famous for his Liberty Seated motif which was used for all denominations of sliver coinage including the half dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar and sliver dollar. He also designed the Liberty Head gold eagle, a motif that was also used on the half-cent, the cent, the gold quarter eagle, and the gold half eagle.

The 1849 eagle is common in circulated grades; however, only 10 coins showing the repunched date have been certified. In its population report, NGC shows 4 1858-S, VP-001 pieces in AU58 with 1 better.