Collectors will find the 1908 to be among the most plentiful Indian half eagles in Gem and better condition, even while some other dates such as the 1909-D are more available overall. The higher Gem population of the 1908 is due to the first-year-of-issue status of this date, which historically resulted in more widespread preservation of examples due to the novelty of the new design. Even so, the 1908 Indian is conditionally rare in MS66, and just a handful of finer pieces are known.
The economic uncertainties of World War I caused the U.S. Mint to drastically curtail the production of gold coins during that conflict. As a result, the 1915 Indian eagle was the last ten-dollar gold piece struck at the Philadelphia Mint until 1926. The mintage for the 1915 issue was 351,075, and the coins were generally well-produced. This Gem exhibits sharply detailed design elements in most areas, with just a touch of the usual softness on the eagle’s shoulder. The extremely well preserved golden-orange surfaces exhibit vibrant mint luster on both sides of this eye-appealing example.
The PCGS population is 11 with 7 graded higher.
Listed at $19,800 in the CDN CPG and $27,500 in the PCGS price guide.
Offered at $18,500
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The 1913 half eagle is usually glossed over in references and discussions on Indian Head gold. With a mintage of more than 915,000 coins, the date is plentiful in most grades and is only considered scarce in Gem condition. But perhaps that is a mistake. The date may be plentiful, but it is often fully struck and lustrous — the perfect type coin. It is also underappreciated in the top grade — not MS65, but MS66.
The PCGS population is only 5 with 2 graded higher.
Listed at $22,500 in the PCGS price guide.
Offered at $15800
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The New Orleans Mint was the only Southern branch to resume coinage operations following the Civil War. Interestingly, its survival as a minting facility can be attributed in part to the same legislation that brought about the coinage of millions of unneeded standard silver dollars. The Bland-Allison Act of February 1878, called for the Treasury Department to purchase monthly 2 to 4 million dollars worth of silver bullion, and to have it coined into new silver dollars which would largely be stored in government vaults. The sudden demand in coinage operations mandated by the law virtually necessitated the reopening of the branch mint in New Orleans, which resumed coinage operations in 1879.
However, the New Orleans Mint’s days were nonetheless numbered. In 1904, coinage of Morgan silver dollars was discontinued and construction was begun on a modern, high-capacity branch mint in Denver, Colorado. Silver and gold coin production at the Louisiana branch dwindled after 1906, when the Denver Mint opened, and by 1909, the need for continued operations at the Southern facility was virtually dissolved. On April 1, of that year, coinage was suspended, and in 1911, the dismantling of the outdated machinery was begun.
Coinage in the first three months of 1909, prior to operations suspension, consisted primarily of dimes, with more than 2.2 million pieces struck; quarter production amounted to only 712,000 coins, and halves to just 945,400 pieces. The only gold coinage at New Orleans in 1909, consisted of a paltry 34,200 half eagles. Interestingly, this was the first issue of this denomination struck there since 1894.
In addition to its popularity as the only O-mint issue of Pratt’s Indian Head type, the 1909-O half eagle is also a significant key date within the series. The 1929 is rarer in the absolute sense, but in Mint State, the 1909-O is the less often seen coin.
Offered at $16,700 delivered
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Bela Lyon Pratt’s quarter eagle and half eagle avoided the motto controversy that swept the recently introduced Saint-Gaudens gold types. But Pratt’s novel recessed relief design had its naysayers, who thought that germs would accumulate within the devices. However, the principal numismatic difference between the Indian quarter eagle and its Liberty predecessor is that high grades for the former are more difficult to obtain. This is because the fields are the highpoints of the design, and are unprotected from abrasions.
The 1908 Indian quarter eagle was well saved at the time of issue and as a result, examples are plentiful in Gem condition today, and Premium Gems are only marginally scarce. However, of the 127 coins graded MS66 at PCGS, only ten of those pieces carry a Plus designation, and just four are certified finer.
Listed at $12,000 in the CDN CPG and $12,500 in the NGC price guide.
Offered at $12,300 Delivered
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The 1930-S is one of the premier keys in the Indian eagle series. Only 96,000 pieces were struck, most of which remained in Mint vaults until the Gold Recall order of 1933, after which they were destroyed. Only a small number of pieces were ever available to collectors through traditional business, either via the Mint Cashier or distribution to federal reserve banks. In their gold coin Encyclopedia, Garrett and Guth write, “In terms of overall rarity, this date ranks a little behind the 1920-S, with just a few hundred known in all, and those are scattered across the grading spectrum.” By population figure, this assessment of the 1930-S issue’s rarity is true, although it is not representative of the real-world availability of this issue. Any Gem example is a major rarity and finer pieces are prohibitively rare.
As compared to our images, in-hand, this Gem is lighter in hue, tends more towards-yllow gold (rather than orange-gold) and is noticeably more lustrous. The NGC population is 11 with 3 graded higher.
Listed at $112,800 in the CDN CPG and $115,000 in the NGC price guide.
Offered at $104,500 Delivered
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The Philadelphia Mint struck off 239,400 Saint-Gaudens Indian Head eagles after the No Periods design had been finalized. Just a few months later in mid-1908 the motto IN GOD WE TRUST would be placed in the left reverse field. This short-lived type remains collectible in high grades but becomes quite scarce-to-rare in MS67 condition. The example herein offered boasts excellent eye-appeal
Listed at $14,400 in the CDN CPG and $13,000 in the NGC price guide.
Offered at $14,280
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Ex O’neal. The 1909-D is one of the scarcer issues among early ten-dollar Indians, and is much more challenging than its mintage of 121,540 pieces would seem to indicate. David Akers contends in A Handbook of 20th-Century United States Gold Coins that it is one of the most underrated issues in the series, and is actually one of the rarest in an absolute sense. “Even in MS60 this issue is very rare and in MS63 or MS64 condition, it can be located only with great difficulty,” says Akers. The PCGS population is only 4 with 2 higher.
Offered at $47,800 delivered
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Only the Philadelphia Mint coined gold in 1929, and production was focused on the double eagle denomination. The 1929 half eagle is, in terms of total population, the rarest Indian Head five in the series. Several hundred pieces survive, primarily in Mint State, since this issue never circulated. However, the PCGS population report shows only 12 at this grade level with NONE HIGHER. Nor has NGC graded any higher, either. In other words, an MS65 is as good as it gets for this date. This one is lustrous and attractive.
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The Indian Head half eagle series was short-lived. Yet, it comprised a number of highly elusive dates, none more so than the 1929. Although the 1909-O is perhaps more recognizable to the uninitiated thanks to its low mintage of 34,200 coins, the 1929 is rarer in the absolute sense with a survival rate approximately 50% lower than its New Orleans counterpart. The Mint struck 662,000 five-dollar gold pieces that year, but nearly the entire mintage was held in reserve and eventually melted after the Gold Recall of 1933. Coins that avoided the melting pot are apt to be found in AU to Uncirculated condition, generally MS61 to MS63.
Offered at $35,750 delivered
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