7083

1908-D $10 No Motto MS66 NGC. Much like the doubl

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1908-D $10 No Motto MS66 NGC. Much like the doubl
<B>1908-D $10 No Motto MS66 NGC.</B></I> Much like the double eagle design, this Saint-Gaudens designed eagle was modified by Charles Barber in 1907. There was almost certainly some professional jealousy involved, and Barber went to work lowering the relief of these coins, under the guise of easier production. It is generally conceded today that the results of Barber's work is an inferior design. In his <I>Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins,</B></I> Walter Breen summed up the modifications by Barber: "Whatever the reason, the design finally put into circulation is not by St. Gaudens at all, but is instead Barber's inferior copy of the St. Gaudens models. Not only is the relief less bold, but the triangular dots are omitted, the branch is differently shaped, a curl encroaches on IBE, some letters are differently shaped, and feather ends are clearer--though central hair and feathers are not."<BR> This example is one of 210,000 struck, and it is high in the Condition Census. David Akers noted that this issue is difficult to find in any Mint State grade, and described this as one of the least attractive coins in the series, due to the usual flat strike. He described this issue as virtually unobtainable in Gem condition. The example that is offered here is an exception to the rule and is highly attractive. The surfaces have frosty orange-gold color with a few tiny abrasions on the reverse. Most of the design elements are sharply struck with the exception of the central hair details on the obverse. This is one of the finest known examples of the issue, with only three better coins certified by NGC. Population: 5 in 66, 3 finer (2/05).