Welcome to my newest guide.  Walking Liberty Half Dollars are my fist love of numismatics, but the Indian gold series comes in a close second.  I have included pretty much everything I know about this quarter eagle series here in this guide.  Please enjoy it, and if you like the guide, click a yes at the bottom of the page.  Thanks !!!

2.50 Indian
(1908 – 1929)
 
Designer:   Bella Lyon Pratt
Weight:   4.18 grams
Composition:   .900 gold (90%) .100 copper (10%)
Net gold weight: .12094 oz. pure gold
Diameter:   18mm with reeded edge
Mints:    Philadelphia and Denver

Mintage figures:  These figures most likely are not accurate, like many other early gold and silver series, these coins could have been melted for their bullion value at some point in history.  This is how many coins were actually minted, not how many still exist today.  Cutting these figures in half is a more realistic representation of how many are still around.

1908 -------- 564,821
1909 -------- 441,760
1910 -------- 492,000
1911 -------- 704,000
1911d ---------  55,680  KEY DATE for the series
1912 -------- 616,000
1913 -------- 722,000
1914 ---------  240,000  SEMI-KEY for the series
1914d ------- 448,000
1915 -------- 606,000
1925d ------- 578,000
1926 -------- 446,000
1927 -------- 388,000
1928 -------- 416,000
1929 -------- 532,000

The $2.50 (quarter eagle) Indian gold coin was a departure from all precedents in United States coinage.  Its design features no raised edge, and the main devices and legends are incuse – sunk below the surface of the coin. 
Boston sculptor Bella Lyon Pratt was the designer of this and the similar half eagle ($5) piece.  Among the public, there was some concern that the recessed design of Pratt’s quarter eagle would collect germs – which was an unfounded fear.  The artistry of the design was condemned loudly by some numismatists and defended by others.  Few people were interested in saving the coins for their collections.  The result is a series with relatively few examples surviving in the higher grades.  Any initial disfavor has mellowed with time; today Pratt’s design is recognized as part of the early 20th-century renaissance of American coinage.  I highly recommend that you add one of these unique and beautiful coins to your collection if you haven’t already.  The uniqueness of the incused design is really a joy to hold and to admire.

Mintmark is on reverse, to the left of the arrows.

GRADING $2.50 INDIAN GOLD

     This part of the guide will hopefully help you to become better at assigning grades to $2.50 Indian gold pieces.  I am not an expert, and this guide is by no means "the law".  I will give a rough guideline on what should and should not be present in order for a coin to qualify for a particular grade.  There are a LOT of over-graded coins on Ebay, and the gold Indian series is no different.  If you are a person who buys coins based on eye appeal alone and never plan to trade or sell them, this guide will mean little to you.  If however you do plan to upgrade or sell your collection in the future, these guidelines may help you make more informed purchases.  Grading the incused design of the Indian gold series is difficult work.  I will try to put representative pictures to compare, but please place more emphasis on the descriptions of what should be present.  You really need to get a good look at these coins to be able to really see the wear.  I encourage you to buy the ANA Grading Standards for US Coins 6th edition.  It covers all US issues and is a wonderful reference, as well as the good ol’ official Red Book.

Coins of this type are rarely collected in grades lower than Fine.  Mintmarks are often weakly struck and tend to wear very quickly.  Coins of 1910, 1914d, and 1925d almost always come with a weak strike.  Although most people think the 1908 comes weakly struck, the fact is that the reverse die was never prepared with full feathers, and by contrast to later dates appears very soft.  The 1911d is valuable with a bold mintmark; weak d pieces are worth less, but beware of counterfeits.  There are a lot of fake 1911d’s out there in the market.  It is relatively easy to buy a 1911 plain coin and simply make a ‘d’ punch to incuse the fake mintmark on a coin.  It’s probably best to buy an NGC, PCGS, or ANACS certified coin for this particular date as it will be guaranteed genuine. 

(F) – Fine – Moderate to heavy wear.  Entire design is clear and bold.  All feathers on headdress are worn with very little detail showing.  The hair cord knot is visible.  The eagle’s wing is worn with some feathers showing at bottom.  All reverse lettering should be visible.
  
(VF) – Very Fine – Light to moderate even wear.  All major features will be sharp.  Cheekbone will show a flat spot.  Feather at top of headdress will be clear, feathers at bottom will show some detail.  Most of the headband should be visible.  The eagle’s wing and neck will show wear, some breast feathers must show.
  
(XF) – Extremely Fine – Very light wear on the highest points of the design.  There will be light wear on the cheekbone, headdress, and headband.  On the back there will be light wear on the uppermost layer of the eagle’s wing feathers, the head, the neck, and eagle’s breast feathers.
  
(AU) – About Uncirculated – Small traces of wear on highest points of design.  Coin will show just a trace of wear on the cheekbone, headdress, and headband feathers on front.  The shoulder of the eagle’s wing will show a trace of wear.

  
(BU) – Brilliant Uncirculated – A strictly Uncirculated coin with no trace of wear on the coin.  Number and placement of bagmarks, amount of luster present, and overall strike and eye appeal will distinguish MS-60’s from MS-67’s.

  
Feel free to check out my other guides.  You may find something else that interests you.  They are all coin related.

If The Slabs Lie, Don’t Buy
Fake CC Dollars
Grading Walking Liberty Halves
Grading Morgan Silver Dollars

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