1795 $10 13 Leaves MS65 Certification #-52941, PCGS #8551

David Hall

The 1795 $10 was the first U.S. ten dollar gold piece. There are two varieties, one with 13 leaves on the branch below the eagle and one with 9 leaves. The 13 leaves variety is more common, though that's hardly the right word. Only 5583 total coins were struck for both varieties. For the 13 leaves, probably 400 to 500 exist today in all grades. There are three gem examples that survive. They are the two PCGS MS65s and the one monster PCGS graded MS66.

David Akers (1975/88)

The 1795 Eagle is the first year of this denomination and it is the commonest of the three dates of the Small Eagle type. In my survey of 360 auction catalogues, the 1795 appeared four times as often as the 1797 Small Eagle and two-and-a-half times as often as the 1796. Also, although the average grades were similar for the three dates, one is much more likely to encounter the 1795 in mint state condition than either of the other two. A small number of extremely choice examples of this date are known, pieces that were onbviously carefully saved as gifts or mementoes from the very day they were struck. As is the case with the Half Eagle of the same date, many specimens have prooflike or semi-prooflike surfaces.

No true proofs exist although a few of the uncirculated pieces are choice enough that they may possibly have been presentation pieces of some sort.