1914-S $10 (Regular Strike)

Ron Guth:

As time has passed and more and more coins have been certified, we have a better, slightly different, view of the 1914-S $10 gold coins. It is, indeed, a scarce date but not the incredible condition-rarity it was once believed to be. In terms of overall population, the 1914-S mimics most closely the 1909-S and the 1916-S. Substantial numbers of MS62 and MS63 examples of the 1914-S have appeared over the years. While the population report numbers are nowhere near as high as those of common dates like the 1926 and 1932, there seems to be a sufficient supply to satisfy collector demand. In MS64, the 1914-S becomes scarce but, even there, it is not nearly as rare as the 1909-S or the 1912-S. MS65 is where the 1914-S really hits its stride -- only about a dozen or so examples have earned that grade. Above MS65 the 1914-S is an extreme rarity, and only a single example has appeared at the MS66 level, with none finer.

David Akers (1975/88): The 1914-S is very similar in all aspects of rarity to the 1910-S and 1912-S. The entire Mint State population of this issue is not large and most of those are in the MS60 to 62 grades with only an occasional choice specimen (MS-63) being available. Above MS-63, the 1914-S is a major rarity and seldom, if ever, available. The Auction '79 and Kruthoffer specimens, both solid MS-65 coins, are the two best I have seen by a small margin, and there are perhaps five or six others that could be called gems. I have never seen or heard of anything that would qualify as better than MS-65, however. Overall, and especially in gem condition, the 1914-S is one of the rarest and most underrated issues in the series.

The typical 1914-S has much more lustre than the 1912-S or 1913-S and is very similar to the 1910-S and 1911-S in this important respect. All 1914-S eagles I have seen have been frosty and very sharply struck; some even show a trace of the "wire rim" that is so evident on the 1911-S and, sometimes, the 1913-S. Color is a definite strong point of this issue, typically rich greenish gold highlighted with rose or orange. Top grade examples of this issue are exceptionally pretty.