How to Identify the Turban Head Eagle

Start with the obverse portrait. A Turban Head eagle shows Liberty facing right with her hair gathered under a soft, rounded cap, LIBERTY arced above and the date below, and stars around the border. Despite the "turban" nickname, the headgear is a plain cloth cap. Count the stars carefully — their number and arrangement vary across the series and are a primary way to attribute a specific issue, such as the 1795 first-year coin.

Turn the coin over and read the reverse type against the date. Coins of 1795–1797 carry the Small Eagle: a slim bird holding a wreath and standing on a palm branch. Coins of 1797–1804 carry the Heraldic Eagle, with a shield on the breast, an olive branch and arrows in the talons, and an arc of stars and clouds above. The reverse type should match the date — a Heraldic Eagle reverse belongs to 1797 or later, so a mismatch between the reverse and the date is a warning sign worth investigating.

Confirm the physical coin. This is a large gold piece — roughly 33 mm across and about 17.5 grams — with a reeded edge. There is no stated denomination and no mint mark, since every example was struck at Philadelphia. Verify diameter and weight against reference figures: a coin that is underweight, the wrong size, or non-magnetic-but-clearly-not-gold in color deserves suspicion.

Because these are high-value early gold coins, treat authentication as essential. Watch for cast fakes with soft or mushy detail, added or altered dates, tooled fields, filed or replaced edges, and gold-plated base-metal replicas. Genuine coins were hand-struck from individually cut dies, so minor die differences are normal, but wrong weight, wrong reverse-for-date, or seams from casting are not. Submit any candidate to a reputable grading service such as PCGS or NGC before buying, selling, or insuring it.