1799 $10 (1799 Eagle) NGC XF45+. Early Gold Eagle. This exceptional 1799 Eagle has been given a plus designation by NGC, which indicates that the piece is at the high end of grade and approaches the requirements for the next grade. It also indicates the coin is of premium quality and has above average eye appeal. In addition this coin also has an excellent obverse strike with strong details on the centers of the stars and the hair. Planchet adjustment marks are seen at the top of the reverse, but these do not impact the coins grade.

The Turban Head or Capped Bust to Right eagles, designed by Chief Engraver Robert Scot, were minted from 1797 to 1804. None were minted in 1802. The obverse shows a bust of a female Liberty in profile facing right with the date below and slightly to the left. The source of Scots obverse design is probably a Roman engraving that copied a Greek goddess. She wears a large, loose fitting cap, and some of her hair sweeps up and around the cap, making it seem like a turban. The cap itself is not a Phrygian cap, which was emblematic of freedom. It was a close fitting cap worn by freed slaves in ancient times to cover their shorn heads. Slaves were not permitted to grow their hair. So the cap used to cover these heads became associated with freedom. However, when he was asked about it, Thomas Jefferson said that the Phrygian cap was not an appropriate symbol of freedom for the United States of America because we were never slaves. Nonetheless, it persisted as a symbol in American coinage perhaps because of its use in France and elsewhere in Europe.

The reverse of the coin has a heraldic eagle with its head turned to the left. Its wings are raised and a banner is seen in front of the right wing, across the neck and ending under the left wing. It is inscribed E PLURIBUS UNUM. Around and above the eagles head is an arrangement of stars. Above that is a chain of clouds. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, interrupted by the wing tips, is around the periphery of the coin.

This reverse design was taken from the Great Seal of the United States. In what some have called colossal design blunder, Robert Scot placed the arrows in the wrong talon. On the left side, the eagles right talon, arrows symbolize aggressive militarism. They should have been placed in the left talon with the olive branch in the right. If this rearrangement was unintentional, it shows a new, inexperienced country that cant even get its symbolism correct. If this was a deliberate rearrangement, it shows a young country taking an aggressive stance during a time of conflict. From 1798 to 1800 the country was engaged with France in an undeclared naval war. Perhaps this symbolism was being used to make a statement to France and others about the sovereignty of the United States.