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The Turban Head eagle, also known as the Capped Bust eagle, was a ten-dollar gold piece, or eagle, struck by the United States Mint from 1795 to 1804. The piece was designed by Robert Scot, and was the first in the eagle series, which continued until the Mint ceased striking gold coins for circulation in 1933. The common name is a misnomer; Liberty does not wear a turban but a cap, believed by some to be a ''pileus'' or Phrygian cap (Liberty cap): her hair twisting around the headgear makes it resemble a turban. The eagle was the largest denomination authorized by the Mint Act of 1792, which established the Bureau of the Mint. It was not struck until 1795, as the Mint at first struck copper and silver coins. The number of stars on the obverse was initially intended to be equal to the number of states in the Union, but with the number at 16, that idea was abandoned in favor of using 13 stars in honor of the original states. The initial reverse, featuring an eagle with a wreath in its mouth, proved unpopular and was replaced by a heraldic eagle. Increases in the price of gold made it profitable for the coins to be melted for their precious metal content, and in 1804, President Thomas Jefferson ended coinage of eagles; the denomination was not struck again for circulation for more than thirty years. Four 1804-dated eagles were struck in 1834 for inclusion in sets of US coins to be given to foreign potentates. These 1804 "Plain 4" coins differ from the eagles actually struck in 1804 in the way the "4" in the date is styled, and are among the most valuable US coins. == Inception == In 1791, Congress passed a resolution authorizing President George Washington to establish a mint. Feeling that the resolution was inadequate, President Washington asked legislators to pass a comprehensive law which would govern the new facility. The result was the Mint Act of 1792, which prescribed the specifications of the new US coins, the highest denomination being the eagle, or ten-dollar piece. The passage of the Mint Act was followed by the establishment in Philadelphia of the Mint, which by 1793 was striking cents and half cents. Coinage of precious metal pieces was delayed; Congress had required that the assayer and chief coiner each post a security bond of $10,000, a huge sum in those days. In 1794, Congress lowered the chief coiner's bond to $5,000 and the assayer's to $1,000, and President Washington's appointees to those positions were able to qualify and take office. Silver coinage began that year. The first deposit of gold to be struck into coins was made at the Mint in February 1795, by Moses Brown of Boston. Around May 1795, the first Mint director, David Rittenhouse, set engraver Robert Scot the task of preparing dies for an issue of gold coins. Rittenhouse resigned in June, before the work came to fruition, and was replaced by Henry deSaussure. The new director took office on July 9, 1795, and pressed to have the gold coin project completed with great speed. DeSaussure also publicized that the Mint would be striking gold pieces, the new nation's first; the first half eagles (five-dollar pieces) were struck 22 days later. Dies for the eagle coinage were prepared, most likely by Scot and by long-time Mint employee Adam Eckfeldt. 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「Turban Head eagle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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