1865-S $10 Normal Date (1865-S Eagle), PCGS XF45. Rare Civil War date. Extraordinarily clean surfaces for the grade characterize this buttery, lightly circulated, rare Civil War dated 1865-S Eagle. Mint luster remains within its devices. This issue is usually weakly struck; however, this piece is an exception. All of the lines on the shield and in Libertys hair are visible, and the legends are sharp. The coin is graded XF45 by PCGS, and it meets or exceeds all of the requirements for that grade. The lines of the hair are separated, the lower three-quarters of the coronet is full, and on the reverse most of the feathers show. Christian Gobrecht designed the Coronet Eagle Liberty Head No Motto.

The obverse shows a profile of Liberty facing left 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 1859 Engraver Longacre prepared a new reverse that was used on Philadelphia coins until 1865. On them the eagles claws are thinner and shorter. This change is not seen on the branch mint issues, such as the present coin, because they were using 1857-1858 dies.

The regular date 1865-S is rare in all conditions. Only about 25 to 35 are known to exist. Ironically the regular date is rarer than the overdate coin. Most regular dates are found from VG to VF condition. The average grade of all certified coins is 37.7. In its population report, PCGS has certified 17 in all conditions. This coin is tied for second best with 3 others, and there are 2 better. With increasing interest in Civil War coinage because of the 150th anniversary, this coin is a candidate to tremendously appreciate in value in the very near future.