1907 $10 Indian, Rolled Edge MS(PCGS#8851)

February 2026 Showcase Auction - The James A. Stack, Sr. Collection Part II

Auktionator

Stack's Bowers

Losnummer

23031

Erhaltungsgrad

MS67

Preis

900.000

Losbeschreibung

Here is a truly world-class rarity that will captivate even the most seasoned and sophisticated numismatist. The luster is thick and satiny, cartwheeling and glowing at every tilt. Countless traces of swirling die polish impart a lovely matte-like texture to the fields. This luster is complemented by rich, handsome color in golden-wheat with a few faint, widely scattered alloy spots on both sides further confirming the coin's awesome originality. It is tied at the MS-67 level with only three other grading events at PCGS, including the Bentley Shores specimen from our August 2013 auction, the Pogue coin from our March 2020 sale, and the Dr. Paul and Rosalie Zito Collection specimen from our Spring 2022 Auction. Only a single coin, the Simpson specimen, ranks higher at MS-67+. The James A. Stack, Sr. specimen offered here is also at the very top of the <em>CAC Population Report</em>, tied only with the aforementioned Pogue and Zito coins. It is a numismatic treasure destined for the most accomplished cabinet or Registry Set.<p>When it was discovered that Augustus Saint-Gaudens' original design for the 1907 Indian eagle caused problems both in production and stacking, Chief Engraver Charles Barber made modifications to the design that included a more standard rim configuration that permitted stacking. Although Saint-Gaudens had succumbed to cancer on August 3, at his studio in Cornish, New Hampshire, another set of models was made using feedback received from the Mint. Saint-Gaudens' widow, Augusta, sent these revised models to the Mint where Barber reviewed them and stated that "dies made from these models would be a great improvement" over the modified dies he had already prepared. Confusion arose, however, from Acting Mint Director Robert Preston's September 9 order to commence production of the revised eagle for circulation: was this the modified Barber design, additional working dies for which had already been prepared and delivered to the coiner, or that sent to the Mint by Augusta Saint-Gaudens, dies for which Barber had not yet produced? In the event, the Mint commenced production per Preston's order using Barber's modified variety on September 13, eventually striking 31,500 examples in September and October 1907. These are the celebrated Rounded (or Rolled) Rim Indian eagles, which have traditionally been attributed as Judd-1903 and Pollock-1997, although most examples are part of a regular issue that was actually intended for commercial use. Per the <em>uspatterns.com</em> website:<p><em>Research by Roger Burdette in the Mint archives has discovered that true patterns for this design do exist and they were struck using a hurriedly made edge collar which has 2 large stars at one end of the tri-partite collar...</em><p><em>2 examples with this edge are in the Smithsonian. It is not known if there are any others.</em><p>Acting Director Preston was replaced in September by the newly appointed Mint director, Frank Leach. Leach agreed with Barber's assessment of the Rounded Rim version and ordered that it be replaced with the revised lower relief Saint-Gaudens model, which also omitted the triangular periods found on both the Wire Rim and the Rounded Rim varieties. Production ceased in October, as above, and on November 9, the new mint director ordered that all but 50 of the Rounded Rim coins be melted down. According to Leach in his 1917 memoirs, <em>Recollections of a Newspaperman</em>, the remaining 50 were then "...given to museums of art and officials and others connected with the work." The disposition of these coins as of February 5, 1908, as reported by Leach to Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou, is given in Roger W. Burdette's 2006 reference <em>Renaissance of American Coinage: 1905-1908</em>, p. 119:<p><em><strong>Eagle - 2nd Model</strong></em><p><em>31,500 pieces struck</em><p><em>31,450 melted up</em><p><em>10 To Mint Bureau</em><p><em>2 To Metropolitan Art Museum exhibit</em><p><em>8 To Mint officials</em><p><em>30 On hand</em><p>Interestingly, when Leach offered each of the dozen members of the 1908 Assay Commission an example, only Ohio Congressman William Ashbrook wanted them and proceeded to buy all 12 for face value from the remaining commission members. Nevertheless, the 50 examples withheld by Leach were eventually distributed as intended.<p>The 1907 Rounded Rim Indian eagle remains one of the rarest and most prized U.S. Mint issues of the 20th century and is pursued by numismatists and art collectors alike. Considerably rarer than regular (as opposed to pattern) strikes of its Wire Rim predecessor, only about 40 or so of the Rounded Rim coins are believed extant. Of these, the present PCGS/CAC MS-67 specimen from the legendary Stack Collection is among the absolute finest and most desirable available to today's discerning collectors.