1862 Eagle (1862 $10) NGC AU55 CAC. Civil War Date Eagle. The featured coin, an 1862-S $10 Eagle, was produced at the San Francisco Mint from 1854-1866. This coin is graded AU55 by NGC and the grade is verified by the Certified Acceptance Corporation (CAC). CAC population reports show that this coin is the only coin verified at the AU-55 grade with none higher! The coin exhibits lustrous honey gold surfaces with minimal contact marks and light areas of wear. Sharply struck devices also complement this coin.

As a result of the Reign of Terror in France in 1793, gold prices rose worldwide. The fluctuating gold prices adversely affected United States coinage, which was statutorily bound to the weight specifications of a 15 to 1 silver/gold ratio defined by the Mint Act of 1792. The fluctuating price of precious metals wreaked havoc all over, particularly with the largest gold coin, the flagship $10 Capped Bust "Eagle." By 1795, an ounce of gold in the United States was worth 15 ounces of silver, and in Paris, an ounce of gold became worth 15.5 ounces of silver. Bullion dealers jumped on the chance to make a quick buck, and many people bought United States gold coins, mostly with Latin American silver coins, and shipped them to Paris to be sold. By 1813, the ratio would reach 16.25:1, and before long, 98% of all U.S. gold coinage would be destroyed. At the end of 1804, President Thomas Jefferson ordered eagle production stopped. It would be thirty-four years before production resumed.

As the first Secretary of Treasury of the United States , Alexander Hamilton had envisioned a monetary standard where gold would be the only legal tender, and coins of other metals would be simply a convenience. He believed that golds price stability was the most consistent of all of the precious metals and be less sensitive to changes in supply. Many considered his idea to be utopian and idealistic and in 1790, Congress settled on a bimetallic standard. Mint Director Robert M. Patterson was instructed to produce $10 gold eagles, and Acting Engraver Christian Gobrecht, replacing the ailing William Kneass, prepared dies for a new design.

Gobrechts design for the Liberty Head $10 gold piece was inspired by the portrait of Venus in Benjamin West's Painting Omnia Vincit Amor (Love Conquers All). The obverse features a bust of Liberty facing left, wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY . Her hair is knotted in the back with hanging curls. Thirteen stars encircle the bust, with the date positioned below. The reverse depicts an eagle holding an olive branch and arrows, surrounded by the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and TEN D. Mintmarks are below the eagle.