1799 Eagle - 1799 $10 NGC XF45+. This 1799 Eagle shows traces of minor wear on Libertys hair, the lines of her drapery and the eagles wing tips. By giving this coin its plus designation, NGC is saying that the piece is at the very top of the grade range. Aside from a small scratch in the right reverse field, the surfaces of this 1799 Eagle are clean and original. Traces of mint luster remain within the devices. The strike of this 1799 Eagle is above average with about half of the stars showing full details. Also full details are seen on much of the hair, the shield, and the wings.

This 1799 Eagle coin is identified as the BD-10 variety because it has Large Stars on the obverse. The Large Stars punch was used after the Small Stars punch broke earlier in the year. The new punch had a fatter, puffier star. It was used until 1801 when it was replaced with a more finely pointed one. In addition to the Large Stars found on the obverse, the reverse has key identifiers as well. The leaf touches the lower right of the letter I in AMERICA, the lowest berry is under the right foot of the last A, the lower beak touches the point of Star 12, and the upper beak extends and almost touches the same star, which also touches the ribbon with one point. The obverse Large Star die was also used in 1800, 1801, and 1804, the Crosslet 4 variety. The reverse die was also used in 1800 and 1801.

The 1799 Eagle was designed by Robert Scot. The obverse design shows a profile of Liberty facing right. Below her is the date which is off center to the left. Between the date and the word LIBERTY on the left side of the coin are eight stars. Another five stars follow LIBERTY down to the bust. Unlike classical Greek goddess portraits, Liberty is modestly draped. She wears a large, soft cap. Her hair flows down and also shows on her forehead. The design was probably taken from a Roman engraving of a Greek goddess. Libertys cap was certainly not a Phrygian or liberty cap. The liberty cap, emblematic of freedom, was worn by freed slaves and freed gladiators in Roman times. It was a close fitting cap used to cover a shorn head, which was one of the way slaves were identified. Because of the way Libertys hair strands wrap around, the oversized cap has been called a turban, and the design has been called the Turban Head because of it.

The Type 2 reverse, first issued in 1797, shows a heraldic eagle. However, Scot mixed up the positions of the arrows and olive branch. The arrows held in the wrong claw signify defiant militarism. Either Scot made an error copying the image of the Great Seal, or he deliberately changed the symbolism in keeping with very warlike stance. Considering that the United States at this time was engaged in a naval war with France (the undeclared Franco-American War of 1798 to 1800, which took place on the East coast of North America and the Caribbean and resulted in the end of French privateer attacks on U.S. shipping), the latter is probably more likely. The French would be especially sensitive to a message within the heraldry, and the young United States was brash in that they had just defeated the super power, England in gaining independence. In the field above the eagle are thirteen stars and above them, six (or seven) clouds. A banner from wing to wing has the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM.

Robert Scot was born in 1744. It is uncertain if he was born in Edinburgh, Scotland or in England. He was trained as a watchmaker in England and learned engraving afterwards. He moved to the United States in 1777, where he worked as an engraver of plates, bills of exchange, and office scales. During the Revolution, he was an engraver of paper money. In 1780 he was made the State Engraver of Virginia. He moved to Philadelphia the next year. He was appointed Chief Engraver of the United States Mint on November 23, 1793 by David Rittenhouse, Mint Director.

His salary in 1795 was $1,200 per year. The Mint Director received only $800 dollars per year more. Scots ability to make dies was limited, and he was advanced in years with failing eyesight. His work was somewhat less than that done in Europe at the time, and Scot was criticized for its poor quality. Despite these limitations, he was responsible for designs of most of Americas first coins. These include the Flowing Hair and the Draped Bust motifs used on early silver coins, and the gold quarter eagle, half eagle and eagle. Scot also designed the 1794-1797 half cent, the 1800-1808 draped bust half cent, and the Thomas Jefferson Indian Peace Medal. Scot died on November 1, 1823 and was succeeded by William Kneass as Chief Engraver.

Dannreuther and Bass estimate that there are 300 to 400 Large Stars 1799 Eagles in existence in all grades. In its population report, NGC shows 14 1799 Eagles in XF 45 condition with 27 better for the Large Stars variety.