1862 $10 (1862 Eagle) NGC AU55. This Civil War dated 1862 Gold Eagle shows some mint luster remaining within the devices. The coin shows light abrasion and just a bit of wear on the high points, in keeping with the grade. The strike is average with weakness shown on about half of the stars and the center portion of the obverse.

The reverse also shows slight weakness on the arrowheads, the leaves, and the vertical stripes. The Coronet Eagle Liberty Head No Motto shows Liberty facing left 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 wings 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, Scots eagle held the arrows and the olive branches in the wrong talons, is corrected. Except for the tips of the eagles 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.

With an original mintage of 10,960, all 1862 eagles are rare. In their population report, NGC shows 18 in AU55 with 28 better.