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The Indian Head eagle was a ten-dollar gold piece, or eagle struck by the United States Mint continuously from 1907 until 1916, and then irregularly until 1933. The obverse and the reverse, designed by the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, were originally commissioned for use on other denominations. Saint-Gaudens was suffering from cancer, and did not survive to see the coins released. Beginning in 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt proposed the introduction of new, more artistic designs on US coins, prompting the Mint to hire Saint-Gaudens to create them. Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens at first considered a uniform design for the four denominations of US coin which were struck in gold, but in 1907 Roosevelt decided to use a model for the obverse of the eagle that the sculptor had meant to use for the cent. For the reverse of the ten-dollar coin the President decided on a design featuring a standing bald eagle, which had been developed for the twenty-dollar piece designed by Saint-Gaudens. The coin, as sculpted by Saint-Gaudens, was in too high relief for the Mint to strike readily; completion of the design modifications necessary to make the coin sufficiently flat to be struck by one blow of the Mint's presses took months. Following the sculptor's death on August 3, 1907, Roosevelt insisted that the new eagle be finished and struck that month. New pieces were given to the President on August 31, which differ from the coins struck later for circulation. The omission of the motto "In God We Trust" on the new coins caused public outrage, and prompted Congress to pass a bill mandating its inclusion. Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber added the words and made minor modifications to the design. The Indian Head eagle was struck regularly until 1916, and then intermittently until President Franklin Roosevelt directed the Mint to stop producing gold coins in 1933. Its termination ended the series of eagles struck for circulation begun in 1795. Many Indian Head eagles were melted by the government in the late 1930s; the 1933 issue is a particular rarity, as few were distributed. == Inception == In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt wrote to his Secretary of the Treasury, Leslie Mortier Shaw, complaining that U.S. coinage lacked artistic merit, and enquiring if it would be possible to engage a private artist, such as sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to prepare new coin designs. At Roosevelt's direction, the Mint hired Saint-Gaudens to redesign the cent and the four gold pieces: the double eagle ($20), eagle ($10), half eagle ($5), and quarter eagle ($2.50). The Liberty Head design had been first struck for the eagle in 1838; the last addition to the Liberty Head gold series, the double eagle, was first struck for circulation in 1850. The designs of those pieces had remained unchanged for more than 25 years, hence they could be changed without an act of Congress. In 1905, Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber engraved the obverse of Roosevelt's inauguration medal, while his assistant, George T. Morgan, engraved the reverse. Roosevelt disliked the work, and engaged Saint-Gaudens to design an unofficial medal commemorating the inauguration. Saint-Gaudens foresaw resistance from Barber on the question of the new coinage; he wrote to his brother, Louis Saint-Gaudens, "Barber is a S.O.A.B. (of a bitch ) but I had a talk with the President who ordered Secretary Shaw in my presence to cut Barber's head off if he didn't do our bidding". Roosevelt was impressed by some models Saint-Gaudens had prepared for the cent showing a head of Liberty. In early 1907, he wrote to Saint-Gaudens proposing that a Native American or Indian headdress be added to the obverse of the cent: "I feel very strongly that on at least one coin we ought to have the Indian feather headdress. It is distinctly American, and very picturesque. Couldn't you have just such a head as you have now, but with the feather headdress?" Numismatic historian Walter Breen described this as "the absurd addition of a feathered warbonnet, such as neither Ms. Liberty nor any Native American woman would ever have worn". Art historian Cornelius Vermeule stated that the Indian Head eagle "missed being a great coin because Roosevelt interfered with the choice of headdress (or no headdress) for Liberty". In February 1907, Saint-Gaudens added the headdress to the head of Liberty. The sculptor was undecided about which design to use for the gold pieces (which were still intended to have a uniform appearance), and after he proposed using the headdress Liberty for the double eagle, Roosevelt tentatively decided to use different designs on the eagle and double eagle, with the eagle to bear the headdress Liberty. The double eagle would show a Liberty striding forward, with a flying eagle on the reverse. The President was prepared to meet personally with Saint-Gaudens if the sculptor objected, but unknown to Roosevelt he was seriously ill with cancer, and no meeting took place. Mint Director George E. Roberts wrote to Saint-Gaudens on May 25, 1907, "It is now settled ... the design for the Eagle shall be the feather head of Liberty with the standing eagle". Saint-Gaudens and his assistants moved quickly on the revision. On June 1, Saint-Gaudens sent models of the new coin, with the designs at a relief that Saint-Gaudens believed the Mint could coin, together with a letter stating that the relief of the new models should be coinable by the Mint. The double eagles were then being delayed because Saint-Gaudens had twice sent the Mint models with too high a relief, which could not be struck in one blow, as required for circulating coinage. Saint-Gaudens's letter was sent to the Philadelphia Mint, where Superintendent John Landis had Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber read and initial it. On June 7, Barber responded to Landis, Roberts wrote to Saint-Gaudens on June 11 suggesting there might be problems with the date and the relief; when he received no response he wrote again on June 18. This time the sculptor responded, writing that he had been awaiting the return of his assistant, Henry Hering, who had handled much of the dealings with the Mint. He agreed that Roman numerals were ill-advised for the eagle, and on June 24, new models were sent to the Mint by Hering. These models, along with a bronze casting which was produced privately, were used by Barber to prepare a die, and experimental pieces were struck on July 19. These "high relief" pieces required multiple strikes of the press to fully bring up the design. Saint-Gaudens wrote to the Mint in mid-July, "I am waiting to know about this in order to proceed with the other reliefs", and he was sent one of the new pieces, along with a Liberty Head eagle for comparison, for which he paid by check. On July 19, Roberts sent a similar pair of coins to Secretary of the Treasury George Cortelyou, noting that Saint-Gaudens's use of a smooth finish to the design, rather than the sharp die work characteristic of the Liberty gold pieces, might encourage counterfeiting. Roberts communicated these concerns to Saint-Gaudens, who requested casts of the dies used to strike the new pieces, which were sent to his house in Cornish, New Hampshire on July 28. Saint-Gaudens died there of cancer on August 3, 1907, and Roosevelt wrote to his widow Augusta, "I count it as one of the privileges of my administration to have had him make two of our coins". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Indian Head eagle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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