1909-D $10 Indian Head Eagle The 1909-D $10 Indian Head Eagle is usually found
in AU55 to MS63 grades. It is quite scarce in MS64 and it
is legitimately rare in properly graded MS65. There are a
few pieces known in MS66 but anything higher than this is
almost impossible to locate.
"D"
(for Denver) left of the arrowheads on the reverse.
Overall Rarity (All grades): 18th
of 32
High Grade Rarity (MS65 & higher): 8th of 32
Unless you are a specialist in the series, it is surprising
to learn just how scarce this date really is. Despite
its relatively high mintage figure of 121,540 the
1909-D is a tough coin in any grade above MS63 and
it many experts regard it as one of the most undervalued
Indian Head eagles.
The 1909-D comes sharply struck in
most respects but the eagle's feathei are typically
less well defined than in the other Denver mint issues.
Luster is most often only average
or just slightly better than average atop frosty,
finely granular surfaces. Highly lustrous 1909-D eagles
are very uncommon but do exist. Some satiny examples
are known but these are not often encountered.
The color is most often a light orange
or coppery gold with select greenish highlights.
The level of eye appeal for this date
is below average. While most examples e seen with
acceptable detail, the typical 1909-D is somewhat
dull, and very noticeably abraded. The 1909-D is sometimes
lumped together with the very common 1910-D but this
is not the case as the 1909-D is considerably scarcer.
