1861 $10 (1861 Eagle) NGC AU58. Civil War $10. This Civil War dated 1861 Eagle glistens with subdued mint luster. The coin is full struck and shows the details of the stars, the highest point of Libertys hair, the eagles neck, and its lower body. The lines at the high points of the coin show sufficient separation to warrant the grade assigned.

In designing the eagle, Engraver Christian Gobrecht, using a head of Venus with a slightly altered hair style that he took from a Benjamin West painting, replaced Robert Scots Turban Head with a completely new design. The coin shows Liberty facing to the left, to the West or perhaps the frontier, wearing a coronet inscribed with the word LIBERTY instead of a cap as on the previous design. Her hair is tied with beads and two long curls fall down, one on the back of her neck and the other below her ear. The design is similar to his Braided Hair Coronet motif used on Large Cents of 1839 to 1857. For the reverse, Gobrecht used a revised version of John Reichs eagle reverse.

The new reverse shows the corrected heraldry, arrows in the left claw and olive branch in the right. The previous design had them mixed up causing confusing war-like symbolism. Gobrecht also removed the stars and clouds above the eagle and added the denomination TEN D. below. Previous eagles lacked this information because they were thought of as bullion and were valued by their weight and precious metal content as was the case with the European coins that circulated and were accepted in the United States.

After 1804, production of the eagle was suspended. It resumed in 1838 with Gobrechts design. During the second year of production, the design was slightly changed. The letters were made smaller and Libertys portrait was modified.