1909-D Indian Head Eagle
Circulation strike struck at the Denver Mint · 121,540 made
- Mintage
- 121,540
- Metal
- 90% gold, 10% copper
- Weight
- 16.718 g
- Diameter
- 27 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1909-D Indian Head Eagle worth?
Few coins in the series are harder to find. Even a worn 1909-D sells well above face value. The flip side is that counterfeits and altered dates are common, so authentication matters.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1909-D Indian Head Eagle rare?
- Yes. Only 121,540 were made, 9th lowest of the 31 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1909-D Indian Head Eagle real gold?
- No, it's gold: 0.4837 troy ounces of pure gold.
- Where is the mint mark on a 1909 Indian Head Eagle?
- On the reverse, to the left of the arrow points. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is D, for Denver.
- Which Denver dates near 1909 are scarcer?
- The 1911-D at 30,100. So the 1909-D is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1909-D Indian Head Eagle coins were made?
- 121,540.
What to check on your 1909-D
- Make sure the mint mark really is a D. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1909 (184,789 made).
- Count the stars on the edge. Eagles dated 1907 to 1911 have 46 raised stars, one for each state at the time. A coin with this date and 48 stars is not genuine.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Judge the grade under good light. Check the feathers above Liberty's eye and the eagle's wing. Gold is soft, so bag marks on the cheek strongly affect the grade.
Gold coins are counterfeited more than any other US coins. A genuine 1909-D weighs 16.718 g and measures 27 mm. Buy certified examples from a reputable dealer. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1909-D
Production at Denver fell off a cliff in 1909. Only 121,540 were made, against 836,500 the year before. That drop is why the 1909-D is the one people look for. The next year it made 2.4 million (1910-D).
1909 came to 184,789 and 1909-S came to 292,350, so neither mint's 1909 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1920-S (126,500) and the 1916-S (138,500).
Only the 1911-D has a lower mintage among Denver's 6 Indian Head Eagles. Within the 1900s it's 4th smallest of 10, between the 1908-S (59,850) and the 1909 (184,789).
More on the 1909-D
Denver struck 121,540 eagles in 1909, the smallest total of the year and well under half of San Francisco's 292,350. Philadelphia's 184,789 also comfortably outnumbered it, so the D is the one to look for in any group of 1909 eagles. It was one of only six Denver Indian Head eagle issues, a run that ended in 1914.
Denver had only begun striking this design in 1908. Its output swung wildly from year to year: from this modest 1909 run to more than 2.3 million in 1910, then just 30,100 in 1911. The 1909-D is scarcer than its Philadelphia counterpart, especially in uncirculated grades, though it's not one of the famous keys. Check the D to the left of the arrowheads on the reverse, then look at Liberty's cheek for bag marks, since gold is soft and large coins like this scuff easily. Worn coins trade above their gold value with a collector premium; a lustrous uncirculated 1909-D brings considerably more. Original, uncleaned surfaces matter a great deal on a scarce Denver date like this.
Steady issues and the 1911-D key (1909 to 1916)
With the motto in place, eagles were struck in most years at Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco. The 1911-D, only 30,100, is the key of the period. The 1911-S, 1913-S and 1915-S are scarce, especially well struck. Denver struck 2,356,640 in 1910, the largest branch mint total of these years.
In 1912 two more stars were added to the edge for New Mexico and Arizona, raising the count from 46 to 48. Mint marks sit on the reverse to the left of the arrowheads. Large gold coins like these picked up bag marks easily, so the cheek and the field in front of the face are the places to check. The 1916-S closed the period before World War I halted production.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1909
The Lincoln cent replaced the Indian Head cent to mark the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Designer Victor David Brenner's initials V.D.B. on the reverse were removed within days after complaints. The New Orleans Mint struck its last coins that year.
How to recognize it
Augustus Saint-Gaudens' $10 gold piece shows Liberty in a feathered headdress inscribed LIBERTY, with 13 stars above and the date below. The reverse shows a standing eagle on a bundle of arrows with an olive branch. The edge has raised stars: 46 until 1911 and 48 from 1912. IN GOD WE TRUST was added to the reverse field in 1908. The mint mark is to the left of the arrows.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Indian Head Eagle (1907–1933) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1909 |
| Mint | Denver Mint |
| Mint mark | "D" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 121,540 |
| Face value | $10 |
| Composition | 90% gold, 10% copper |
| Weight | 16.718 grams |
| Diameter | 27 mm |
| Edge | Raised stars (46, then 48 from 1912) |
| Designer | Augustus Saint-Gaudens |
Other 1909 Indian Head Eagle issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 Indian Head Eagle | 184,789 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1909-D Indian Head Eagle | 121,540 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1909-S Indian Head Eagle | 292,350 | Circulation strike | – |
Mintage: Indian Head eagle (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.