1853-O Eagle - 1853-O $10 NGC AU55 CAC. Original and clean surfaces with no abrasions worthy of individual mention characterize this Almost Uncirculated Southern branch mint 1853-O Eagle. The grade of AU55 is confirmed by CAC, which means that the coin is of premium quality and fully merits the grade it was assigned. The strike is above average with full details on about half of the stars, the eagles neck, and the area to the lower left of the shield. The dentils are strong on both sides. Some muted mint luster remains in protected areas.

The Coronet Liberty Head, No Motto eagle 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.

In 1844 Christian Gobrecht died. He was the Chief Engraver who had designed the coin. James B. Longacre became the Engraver subsequently. His job consisted mainly of punching the dates and mintmarks into the working dies. He made several blunders including 1846-O, 6 over 5; 1849 over 1848; 1853, 3 over 2; and 1865-S, 865/inverted 186. In this last one, the three numbers were entered upside down and then corrected. In the present coin there is a hollow ring on top of the second stripe of the shield.

In its population report as of April 2012, CAC shows 2 AU55 1853-O Eagle with 2 better.