1849-O Eagle - 1849-O $10 NGC F12 CAC. This Southern branch mint circulated 1849-O Eagle shows wear in keeping with the grade, which is verified by the CAC sticker. The coin is identified as being solid for the grade and of premium quality. It boasts a full LIBERTY that is completely readable with all the letters present. The surfaces are original, clean, and free of marks that merit individual description.

Christian Gobrecht designed the eagle. It shows Liberty facing left in profile wearing a LIBERTY inscribed coronet with her hair tied in the back in beads. Two long curls hang down her neck, one in the back and the other on the side. She is surrounded with thirteen six-pointed stars. The date is below the truncation, which shows no drapery. The motif is taken from a Benjamin West painting of Venus. It was also used with modifications for the Large Cents of 1839. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle with outstretched wing looking to the left. On its chest is the Union shield. In its talons it holds the olive branch and arrows. The error in the previous issue, Scots eagle held the arrows and the olive branches in the wrong talons, is corrected. Except for the tips of the eagles wings UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the reverse, separated from the denomination TEN D. by dots. Dentils are near the edge on both sides of the coin, and the edge is reeded.

The New Orleans Mint was authorized in 1835 by President Andrew Jackson, hero of the battle of New Orleans. William Strickland, a Philadelphia architect designed the building. It was made in the solid, bulky Greek Revival style of architecture. It was the largest of the three branch mints and located at major port of entry. Unfortunately Strickland did not account for the soft ground around the site. Because of it, the building had to undergo numerous repairs throughout its history.

Of the New Orleans Mint survivors, only the 1841-O eagle exceeds the 1849-O eagle rarity. In its population report as of March 2012, CAC shows 1 1849-O eagle in F12 with 6 better.