1884-S Eagle - 1884-S $10 PCGS MS63. This mint state, Western branch mint 1884-S Eagle is tied for the finest known at both PCGS and NGC. This 1884-S Eagle coin is well struck with full details on Libertys hair, the centers of the stars, the eagles neck, and the area to the lower left of the shield. Bright mint luster is seen on both sides along with gold and peach-gold coloring. No wear is found, as expected for a mint state coin. The coins surfaces are original but show a few bag marks, which are probably the result of having been shipped to Europe and back.

In 1804 President Thomas Jefferson stopped the mintage of eagles. Because its melt value exceeded its monetary value, there was excessive melting of theses coins. Over thirty years later, the standard weight and fineness for gold coins was changed. Eagles went from 270 grains to 258 and fineness from 91.67% to 90% gold. In 1838 Mint Director Patterson told Engraver Gobrecht to prepare new dies for the eagle. The Type 2 eagle was created when the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added to a banner above the eagle in 1866. The change was made in response to pressure organized by the Reverend M.R. Watkinson. The motto remained until 1907, when President Theodore Roosevelt told Augustus Saint-Gaudens to omit it on the newly designed eagle.

Christian Gobrecht designed the half eagle. Its obverse shows a left facing, young profile of Liberty wearing a LIBERTY inscribed coronet. The portrait of Liberty was based on a Roman neoclassic painting of the Napoleonic era called Pythagoras by Pierre Guerin. It was painted about 1800. The art critic, Vermeule calls her effigy on the coin a sober yet sympathetic portrayal. Her hair is tied in the back and there are two loose curls that hang down her neck. Around the head are thirteen six-pointed stars, and the date is below the truncation. At the periphery of the coin are dentils. The coin also has a reeded edge. The reverse has an eagle holding a Union shield on its breast as it stands with its wings raised and held out from the body. The head and neck are actually too large for the birds size. Its head is turned to the left. Its right talon holds the olive branch, and the left holds three arrows, correcting the error of the previous eagle design. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is around the top and side rims, interrupted by the wing tips. The denomination, written as TEN D. is below separated from the legend by dots. Mintmarks are between the eagle and the denomination.

When Chief Engraver William Kneass was unable to resume his duties after a debilitating stroke, the new assistant, Christian Gobrecht, was called on to take over the responsibility of making the design for the new half eagle. Robert Patterson, the Mint Director, wanted the new half eagle and eagle to be uniform. Gobrecht accomplished this task, and the new eagle became an important product of the Mint. After Gobrechts death in 1844, James B. Longacre succeeded as Mint Engraver. Since the dies were completely hubbed except for the dates and mintmarks, all Longacre had to do was enter them by hand. However, this practice led to numerous blundered or repunched dies. In 1859 a new reverse punch that had smaller claws on the eagle was used resulting in the Type 2 or new reverse.

The 1884-S eagle is a condition rarity in MS63. Quantities were found in a European bank hoard; however, they mainly grade from AU55 to MS61. In its population report, PCGS shows this coin tied with 10 others in MS63 with none better. At NGC there are 5 in MS63 with none better, and these numbers do not account for crossovers or resubmissions.