5307

[L#5307] 1907 WE $10 NGC MS65

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:10,000.00 USD Estimated At:40,000.00 - 50,000.00 USD
[L#5307] 1907 WE $10 NGC MS65
Often called the "wire rim" by most, the Mint's term is "fin" but also "knife rim" is acceptable to describe the fine raised circle of gold at the extreme edge of the rim on the obverse and reverse. The surfaces are terrific, with satiny softness throughout. The fields show extensive die polishing lines which cross many of the devices but are most prominent in the fields. The net mintage is believed to be 448, after some were melted from the original 500 coined. Apparently these were not meant for circulation, but were instead presented to VIPs, hence most of these are not circulated and therefore pretty well preserved.

The story on this issue is delicious and is always worth repeating. President Theodore Roosevelt (he of the "Rough Riders" fame) took it upon himself to upgrade the designs on our gold coinage. In a letter to the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Roosevelt described the coin designs then in circulation as "atrociously hideous", and asked for Saint-Gaudens help in redesigning the coinage. This is the result, a stylish and very modern for its day head of Liberty decked out in a fancy headdress of large feathers shaped into a crescent similar to the ancient Greek plumed helmets. His standing eagle was intended for the $20 denomination, but after consultation with the President and mint officials, it was decided to place it on this $10 denomination, a perfect companion for Liberty.