1799 Eagle - 1799 $10 PCGS XF45. Small Stars, BD-8, R5. This rare variety, lightly circulated 1799 Eagle has an above average strike with strong details on Libertys hair, the eagles neck and wings, the upper part of the shield, and the clouds. There are traces of minor wear on the hair, the lines of drapery and the wing tips. The dentils, which are more prominent on the reverse, are present and visible on the obverse. The surfaces of this 1799 Eagle are original and, except for a very small dig behind the eagles head, clean for the grade. No planchet adjustment marks are found on the piece. Remnants of muted mint luster remain within the devices on both sides of the coin.

This 1799 Eagle is identified as the BD-8 variety because the 17 of the date is tilted far to the right. The 7 is also higher than the 1. On the reverse, the point of Star 12 touches the eagles upper beak as the eagle appears to bite its tip. Two of Star 12s lower points touch the banner as does one from Star 13. A distinctive die crack within the C of AMERICA is present as is a die crack from the upper serif of the C through the A.

Researchers believe that the Small Stars varieties preceded the Large Stars. They suspect that the Small Star punch broke and was replaced by the Large Star version.

The Capped Bust, Heraldic Eagle ten dollar coin was designed by Robert Scot. The obverse 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 ­­­8 stars. Another 5 stars follow LIBERTY down to the bust. Liberty 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 ways slaves were identified. Because of the way Libertys hair strands wrap around it, the oversized cap has been called a turban, and the design has been called the Turban Head.

The Type 2 reverse, 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, an arc of clouds. A banner from wing to wing has the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM.

Thomas Jefferson chose Robert Scot to be the first Chief Engraver of the United States Mint on November 23, 1793. Scot was born in 1744 in Edinburgh, Scotland or England. (Documentary evidence is lacking as to where he was born.)  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. He was responsible for designs of most of Americas first coins. These include the Flowing Hair and the Draped Bust motifs used on the 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.

Neither of the grading services lists the population numbers for the 1799 Small Stars BD-8 eagle variety; however, Bass and Dannreuther give it an R5 rarity rating by which they mean that 45 to 55 pieces are known in all conditions.