Proof 1894 Eagle - 1894 $10 NGC PF63 CAM. Here is a razor-sharp, low mintage ( 43 ) 1894 Proof Cameo Eagle that has the look of classic proof gold in gem condition. This seldom seen or offered proof gold coin has frosted yellow-gold devices that sharply contrast with mirrored fields to produce the cameo effect. The colors and luster affirm the coins originality. The surfaces are clean for the grade with  virtually no contact marks or other distractions. The strike is absolutely fabulous with full details on the centers of the stars, Libertys hair, the eagles neck, and the area to the lower left of the eagle. This is a rare opportunity for the collector and investor.

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.

Gobrecht, using a head of Venus with a slightly altered hair style that he took from a Benjamin West painting, replaced Robert Scots Turban Head with a completely new design. The coin shows Liberty facing to the left, to the West or perhaps the frontier, wearing a coronet inscribed with the word LIBERTY instead of a cap as on the previous design. Her hair is tied with beads, and two long curls fall down, one on the back of her neck and the other below her ear. The design is similar to his Braided Hair Coronet motif used on Large Cents of 1839 to 1857. For the reverse, Gobrecht used a revised version of John Reichs eagle reverse. The new reverse shows the corrected heraldry, arrows in the left claw and olive branch in the right. The previous design had them mixed up causing confusing war-like symbolism. Gobrecht also removed the stars and clouds above the eagle and added the denomination TEN D. below. Previous eagles lacked this information because they were thought of as bullion and were valued by their weight and precious metal content as was the case with the European coins that circulated and were accepted in the United States.

Both before and during the Civil War almost a dozen Protestant denominations pressured Congress to add references to God to the Constitution and other government documents. Reverend Mark Richards Watkinson was the first to write to Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase to request that Gods name be added to our coinage. His suggestion for a motto was God, Liberty, Law. Chase ordered Mint Director James Pollock to prepare a suitable motto. Pollocks suggestions included Our Trust Is In God, Our God And Our Country, and God Our Trust. Then Chase decided on In God We Trust to be added to most of the nations coinage. This motto was a subtle reminder that the North considered itself on the side of God with regard to the issue of slavery. A new law was required to allow the motto to be added since previous acts of Congress specified the mottos and devices that were permitted on coins. The new motto was placed on all coins that were deemed large enough to accommodate it.

The Type 2 eagle was created when the motto IN GOD WE TRUST was added to a banner above the eagle in 1866. The motto remained until 1907, when President Theodore Roosevelt told Augustus Saint-Gaudens to omit it on the newly designed eagle.

Gobrecht was the third Chief Engraver at the United States Mint. He was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1785. His father was a German immigrant, and his mother traced her ancestry to the early settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Gobrecht married Mary Hewes in 1818. One of his early positions was as an engraver of clocks in Baltimore. Later he went to Philadelphia where he became a banknote engraver. He invented a machine that allowed one to convert a three-dimensional medal into an illustration. This was an excellent job and Gobrecht was understandably reluctant to work for the Mint for less money than he was making at the engraving firm. In order to persuade him to leave, Mint Director Robert Patterson prevailed upon Chief Engraver William Kneass, who had had a stroke, to take less in salary so more money would be available to hire Gobrecht on a permanent basis. In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for the Mint as an assistant to Kneass. After Kneass stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work for the Mint. He became Chief Engraver in 1840 and served until his death in 1844. He was famous for his Liberty Seated motif, which was used for all denominations of silver coinage including the half-dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar and silver dollar. He also designed the Liberty Head gold eagle, a motif that was also used on the half-cent, the cent, the gold quarter eagle, and the gold half eagle. 

Gold eagle proof coins of the 1880s to 1907 are rare because there was no real demand for them when they were issued. It wasnt until the decades of the 1930s and 1940s that collectors became interested in obtaining proof eagles. The NGC population reports for all proof eagles of 1838-1907 show only 764 coins certified for all dates in all grades. PCGS has certified 65 for the same period of time.
 
With an original mintage of only 43, and only 25 to 30 known today, the 1894 proof eagle is fundamentally rare in all grades. In its population report, NGC shows that it has certified 3 at the PFCA63 level with 6 better. At PCGS there are none in PRCA63 with only 1 better. These numbers do not account for crossovers or resubmissions.