1907 Indian Eagle
photo: stack’s bowers
Extraordinary Superb Gem 1907 Indian Eagle
Among Finest Known of the Rare Rounded Rim, Periods Variety
1907 Indian Eagle. Rounded Rim, Periods. Judd-1903, Pollock-1997. Rarity-5. MS-67 (PCGS). CAC.
Blushes of pinkish-rose iridescence drift over the golden-yellow surfaces on both sides of this impressive Indian eagle. Sharply struck, fully lustrous and virtually pristine, it is difficult for us to imagine a more desirable example of the rare Rolled Rim issue. Extraordinary!
photo: stack’s bowers
When it was discovered that Augustus Saint-Gaudens' original design for the 1907 Indian eagle caused problems both in production and stacking, Chief Engraver Charles Barber made modifications to the design that included a more standard rim configuration that permitted stacking. Although Saint-Gaudens had succumbed to cancer on August 3, at his studio in Cornish, New Hampshire, a second set of models was made using feedback received from the Mint. Saint-Gaudens' widow, Augusta, sent the revised models to the Mint where Barber reviewed them and stated that "dies made from these models would be a great improvement" over the modified dies Barber had already prepared. When Acting Mint Director Robert Preston reviewed Barber's Rounded Rim coins, he thought they had been struck with the new models from Saint-Gaudens' studio. Consequently, Preston signed off on the Barber version, despite Barber having already pronounced the revised models superior to his own, and production of the Rounded Rim variety for circulation commenced on September 13. Estimates vary as to the precise number struck of the Rounded Rim variety; the most frequently quoted figure is 31,500 pieces based on Treasury correspondence, though some sources cite figures as high as 32,500 coins.
photo: stack’s bowers
Acting Director Preston was replaced in September by the newly appointed Mint director, Frank Leach. Leach agreed with Barber's assessment of the Rounded Rim version and ordered that it be replaced with the revised lower relief Saint-Gaudens model, which also omitted the triangular periods found on both the Wire Rim and the Rounded Rim varieties. Production ceased and on November 9, he ordered that all but 50 of the Rounded Rim coins be melted down. According to Leach in his 1917 memoirs, Recollections of a Newspaperman, the remaining 50 were then "...given to museums of art and officials and others connected with the work." Interestingly, when Leach offered each of the dozen members of the 1908 Assay Commission an example, only Ohio Congressman William Ashbrook wanted them and instead bought all 12 for face value from the remaining commission members.
photo: stack’s bowers
About ten times as rare as the earlier Wire Rim variety, almost all of the very few Rounded Rim coins survived. All but five or so of the remaining estimated 40 specimens are Mint State, a good proportion of which have been certified at MS-65 and MS-66. Only a select few have achieved the Superb Gem level, including the present specimen from the Pogue Collection. The 1907 Rounded Rim eagle is one of the rarest and most prized issues of the twentieth century and is pursued by numismatist and art collector alike. Here is an incredible example of one of the great coin designs of all time.
