$2 1/2 Indian Gold
The Saint-Gaudens double eagle (or $20 gold piece) is frequently acclaimed as the single most beautiful coin in American history. A case can be made, however, that two smaller U.S. gold coins from the same historical period are really much more innovative and daring. And, at the time they made their first appearance, they were also quite a bit more controversial. These two coins are the Indian Head quarter and half eagles or, in layman's terms, the Indian Head $2.50 and $5 gold pieces, respectively.
At the start of the 20th century, the life expectancy of the average American was less than 50 years. But the four gold coins then being issued by Uncle Sam had all been around without a major design change for more than 50 years. Three, in fact, had carried the same design, a portrait of Miss Liberty wearing a coronet, for more than 60 years.
Clearly, it was time for a change, and in 1901 the groundwork was laid for that change when Theodore Roosevelt succeeded to the presidency upon the assassination of William McKinley. The restless, dynamic Roosevelt was a quintessential agent of change, taking a personal interest and stamping his imprint upon the entire gamut of national life including U.S. coinage.
It was Roosevelt who arranged for famed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to redesign the double eagle and eagle (or $10 gold piece), and he basked in reflected glory when the stunning new coins debuted to rave reviews in 1907. He then gave his personal blessing to redesigning the two remaining gold coins the following year.
The Indian Head quarter eagle and its larger companion, the half eagle, stand out from all the rest of United States coinage because their relief is incuse: instead of being raised above the surface and protected by a rim, the designs and the lettering are sunken in a plane that is uniformly flat.
The concept for such coins came from a Boston physician and art lover named William Sturgis Bigelow, who happened to be a close friend of Teddy Roosevelt's. Bigelow's interest apparently had been stimulated by Egyptian relief's in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and although there was no modern precedent for the use of this technique in producing coins, he and Roosevelt both thought the notion had merit.
Another prominent Bostonian, sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt, got the assignment of fashioning designs. Unlike Saint-Gaudens who had come up with different designs for the double eagle and eagle, Pratt provided identical portraits for both of the smaller coins, but their dignity and strength amply justify this added exposure.
The obverse depicts a realistic-looking Indian brave in a war bonnet, with the date, 13 stars and the motto LIBERTY forming a circle around this central device. The reverse shows an eagle in repose, perched upon fasces and an olive branch, the intertwined symbols of preparedness and peace. Through judicious sizing and placement, Pratt succeeded in incorporating four different inscriptions on this side, (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, IN GOD WE TRUST and the statement of value) without causing the coin to seem unbalanced, cluttered or cramped.
The public of 1908 received the coin with mixed feelings. Although many appreciated the design's artistic merits, others immediately found fault. Some felt neither the Indian nor the eagle were properly represented, while others questioned the coin's ability to stack properly. Inevitably, the inc using of the design elements, being unfamiliar, also stirred criticism. Philadelphia coin dealer Samuel H. Chapman found it particularly objectionable, warning President Roosevelt that the "sunken design" would lead to a multitude of problems, including counterfeiting and even illness (he maintained that the recessed areas would become clogged with filth and convey disease). The president remained unshakable, however, in his support for the coins.
Indian Head quarter eagles were issued annually from 1908 through 1915. At that point, the Mint suspended their production for a decade; when it resumed in 1925, the coins were struck for five more years before the series ended in 1929one of many victims of that year's Wall Street crash. As the depression took hold, what little gold came into the Mint was used for production of double eagles. With the cessation of gold coinage and the Great Recall of 1934, the quarter eagle would not return.
With just 15 different date-and-mint combinations (12 issues from the Philadelphia Mint and three from Denver), the series is one of the smallest in U.S. coinage, making a complete set attainable for many collectors despite the relatively high cost of buying anything made of gold. Its affordability is enhanced by the fact that only one coin, the 1911-D, is notably scarce; at 55,680, it's the only coin with a mintage of less than 240,000. The Denver mintmark can be found on the reverse, to the left of the arrowheads. Relatively small numbers of matte proofs were made in every year from 1908 through 1915, but not in the final five years. The flat matte finish of the proofs proved unpopular with collectors of the day, and many remained unsold, to later be melted by the Mint.
Being recessed, the design elements on Indian Head quarter eagles are protected from excessive wear. At the same time, this complicates the grading of these coins, since the patterns of normal wear differ from those of raised-relief coins. Critical areas for detecting traces of wear are the Indian's cheekbone and headdress feathers and the shoulder of the eagle's left wing. Although these coins are relatively plentiful in grades up to Mint State-64, a sharp drop-off occurs above that level and very few examples exist in grades of Mint State-66 and above. Counterfeits of many dates exist, and some are very deceiving. Any questionable piece should be authenticated.
The Indian Head quarter eagle may not be quite as magnificent as the Saint-Gaudens coinage, but it has its fair share of admirers and has long since overcome its early criticism.
$2 1/2 Liberty Gold
Beginning in 1834, the Mint began a search for a suitable design that could serve as an enduring symbol on American gold coins. In that year Engraver William Kneass executed a head of Liberty for quarter eagles and half eagles that became known as the Classic design. But this design, although modified several times, was not to last, as it was adapted from John Reich's old Classic Head motif first used on large cents in 1808 and officials continued to press for a symbol of Liberty more befitting the growing Republic.
By 1838, Christian Gobrecht's Coronet design for the eagle took center stage, and a version of this in keeping with the Mint's penchant for uniformity was used on the quarter eagle starting in 1840.
The design as finally adopted featured a large head of Liberty facing left, wearing a wide coronet inscribed with the word LIBERTY. Her hair is pulled back in a bun and held in place by a string of pearls. Thirteen stars are placed around the periphery, representing the original colonies, with the date below. The eagle on the reverse was essentially the same one that had been on quarter eagles since 1808. Originally designed by John Reich, the 1840-1907 version was probably modified by Robert Ball Hughes. The heraldic eagle has its wings spread from rim to rim with the Union shield covering its breast. An olive branch representing the country's peaceful intentions is in the eagle's right claw, with three arrows emphasizing military preparedness in the left. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the eagle, with the denomination 2 1/2 D. beneath the bird. Between 1840 and 1907, a total of 11,921,171 Coronet quarter eagles were struck at five mints: Philadelphia (no mintmark), Charlotte (C), Dahlonega (D), New Orleans (O), and San Francisco (S). Mintmarks can be found on the lower reverse beneath the eagle. An estimated 4,232 proofs were also coined. The early (pre-1860) proofs are very rare, with only two or three pieces surviving from many years. Often, proofs have frosted white devices that contrast sharply against deeply mirrored fields. These "cameo" proofs are very popular as type pieces. Most of the proofs struck after 1901 have an all-brilliant finish with no field to device contrast. This brilliant finish continued until the end of the series in 1907, when Bela Pratt's sunken relief Indian Head design debuted, and the matte proofing process was adopted.
The series contains many individual rarities, some of legendary status, and a large number of scarce issues. Its exceptional length remaining unchanged for 68 years, unlike the larger denominations that received the motto in 1866 makes it a very difficult series to complete. Although most collectors seek a single high grade example for type sets, others expand their horizons to include one coin from each mint, but even that is challenging. Charlotte and Dahlonega quarter eagles are particularly rare and expensive in mint condition, and these pieces are the keys to a collection from the five mints. San Francisco and New Orleans issues are also very scarce in AU and mint state, but generally undervalued compared to other mintmarked gold coins with similar mintages and survival rates. The most commonly found Coronet quarter eagles in mint state however, are the Philadelphia issues from 1851 through 1853, 1861, 1873, 1878 and after 1886. Philadelphia does have its rarities though: Civil War issues and the dates from 1874 through 1877, when specie payments were still suspended, are quite elusive. Some low mintage dates like the 1881 and 1885 exist today in larger numbers than their mintage would suggest: fortunately, many were recovered from European hoards.
The series is replete with important coins, but none more famous and historically significant than the 1848 CAL. quarter eagle. Made from some 230 ounces of native California ore shipped eastward in 1848, the resulting 1,389 quarter eagles are distinguished by the abbreviation CAL. stamped into the die above the eagle's head, and all authentic specimens have a square period after CAL. Many collectors consider these CAL. quarter eagles to be the first commemorative coins struck in the U.S., predating the Columbian half dollar by 44 years.
Also struck in the Philadelphia Mint are two other dates that have achieved fabled status, the 1841 and 1875. The 1841 has affectionately been labeled "The Little Princess." Approximately 15 examples are known and these extraordinarily rare coins have only been found in the finest and most comprehensive collections. The 1875 Philadelphia issue is another very rare date, with only 400 pieces struck and an estimated 23-25 examples surviving. Interestingly, one prominent gold collector in the Northeast has accumulated more than 15 specimens of this key issue. Another famous rarity is the first year of issue from the San Francisco Mint, the 1854-S one of the standout rarities in all of U.S. numismatics, with a scant 9-15 specimens believed to exist today in all grades. Only 246 quarter eagles were struck in that initial year, because the San Francisco Mint lacked parting acids (the same problem that plagued private minters at the time).
When grading Coronet quarter eagles, friction begins to first show on the tip of the coronet and above the eye on the obverse, and on the wing tips and claws of the eagle on the reverse. Striking quality is usually quite good and should not present difficulties for most post-1878 issues, but earlier branch mint coins are especially prone to weakness on the hair curls around Liberty's face and on the left leg of the eagle. Counterfeits are sometimes encountered, but the most frequently seen dates for bogus pieces are the common dates between 1900 and 1907. Altered mintmarks exist on certain key dates such as 1841 and 1875, but the diagnostics for the dies used to strike genuine coins are widely known: authentication is highly recommended.
The unchanging durability of the Coronet design on quarter eagles is unrivalled in the history of U.S. coinage. This exceptionally long span of time still stands as the longest uninterrupted use of a coin design without a major design alteration. When the first coins were struck in 1840, much of the United States was still a rough and tumble frontier that valued hard cider and log cabins enough to elect as their leader the coarse old Indian fighter, William Henry Harrison. As the final Coronet quarter eagles were struck in 1907, America was in many ways a different country than it had been in 1840. It retained the rugged individualism that had characterized the national spirit throughout the 19th century, but it was a more mature America, heralded not only for its powerful economic and military presence throughout the world, but for its diplomatic achievements as well illustrated by Theodore Roosevelt's winning of the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese War.
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