In 1908, the Indian Head design of Bela Lyon Pratt was placed on the nation’s
$2.50 quarter eagles and $5 half eagles. Pratt’s design was unlike any other
seen in American coinage, in that the features of the coin were incused (meaning
indented or recessed), as opposed to raised above the surface.
The foremost agent of change during the early years of the 20th century was
President Theodore Roosevelt. One of his goals was to upgrade the artistic
qualities of U.S. coinage, to the level of becoming a source of national pride
on the world stage.
One of the president’s closest friends was a Boston doctor named William Sturgis
Bigelow. A connoisseur of history and the arts, Bigelow had studied the incuse
nature of wall designs from ancient Egypt, and suggested a similar approach to
U.S. coinage. Never afraid to try something new, Roosevelt agreed, and Bigelow
procured the noted sculptor Pratt to prepare the models.
The obverse depicts a Native American wearing a war bonnet. The reverse is
dominated by a vigilant eagle resting watchfully upon a fasces bundle tipped by
an
arrowhead, held together by an olive branch, symbolizing both military strength
and peace.
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Indian Head
Half Eagle
Specifications |
Diameter: |
Weight: |
Minted: |
Composition: |
Designer |
Edge: |
21.60 mm |
8.359 g |
1908-1929 |
.900
Au .100 Cu |
Bela Lyon Pratt |
Reeded |
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Coin Photos courtesy of
Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc., Beverly Hills, CA. |
Pratt submitted his models to Mint Director Frank Leach on June 29, 1908, accompanied
by a letter which read:
Dear Sir, I am
sending to the
mint at Philadelphia, the model of the coin which I have
prepared and I hope same will prove satisfactory. I wish that those in
charge of making the die would follow the models absolutely or at least
would make no changes without consulting me.
I shall be exceedingly
interested in seeing the finished coin. Will you kindly le me know when we
may hope to see the coins. Yours etc.
Less than three months later, the first trial sample was produced. On September
26, Roosevelt wrote the following to Bigelow:
Dear
Sturgis: I enclose you the visible proof of a great service you have
rendered the country -- and I am speaking with scientific accuracy.
Here you will see the five dollar gold piece, the copy of the models you
have prepared, and a month hence our five dollar gold pieces that are issued
from the mint will all be of this type. This one I send you as the
first one struck. It therefore has a peculiar interest and I feel you
are peculiarly entitled to have it; so please accept it with the compliments
of Director Leach and myself. Ever yours, etc.
The half eagle referred to by Roosevelt in his letter above never reached
Bigelow; apparently it was stolen after the letter was sent.
When the Indian Head five dollar gold coin was released to the public in
November 1908, along with its smaller sibling,
the quarter eagle, its unusual
design generated a lot of reaction, much of it negative. Philadelphia coin
dealer Samuel H. Chapman was a leading critic of the incused concept, whose
bitter harangue reached Roosevelt’s desk. Compelled to defend his brainchild,
if not his personal honor, Bigelow wrote to his friend, the president, saying:
Dear Mr.
President: I have...an interesting letter from Mr. Samuel Hudson
Chapman concerning the new gold coins... He says the head of the Indian is
"without artistic merit and portrays an Indian who is emaciated"... The
answer to this is that the head was taken from a recent photograph of an
Indian whose health was excellent. Perhaps Mr. Chapman has in mind the
fatter but less characteristic type of Indian sometimes seen on the
reservations... "The sunken design will be a great receptacle for dirt and
conveyor of disease, and the coin will be the most unhygienic ever
issued."...The question of hygiene has more relation to silver coins than
gold, as they find their way into dirtier pocks. A dirty gold coin
would be an anomaly. I have never happened to see one.
Other complaints abounded: concern over counterfeiting, stacking capability,
coin thickness, and more.
Unshaken by the naysayer corps, Roosevelt allowed the Bigelow-Pratt gold coinage
to continue, with no alterations to the design.
The Indian Head Half Eagle was minted from 1908 through 1916. Production was
then suspended until 1929, when 662,000 pieces were struck, most of which were
destroyed before ever leaving the Mint. As the Great Depression took hold,
economic conditions precluded additional production of the $5 Indian
gold coin.
The demise of the Indian Head five dollar gold was the last the nation would see
of the half eagle in circulation. Since United States gold coins were first
minted in 1795, by far the most successful face value denomination in American
life was the half eagle. From 1795 to 1916, half eagle production was skipped in
only three years: 1801, 1816 and 1817. Through political uncertainty, financial
catastrophes and war, the half eagle was a fellow traveler in America's journey.
There are three key dates in the brief Indian Head Half Eagle series. The
most important of these is the previously mentioned 1929. The 1909-O is
also highly prized by collectors, as is
the 1911-D, though to a much lesser extent. Click on the key date links
below to find examples currently for sale:
It is a wise move to buy only key date Indian Head Half Eagles that have been
certified by one of the four leading
grading service companies: PCGS, NGC, ICG, or ANACS. If you're dealing
with a seller of unchallenged reputation, then perhaps certification by one of
the Big Four is not as critical. Grading is so important that it cannot be
overstated. Prices for key date Indian Head Half Eagles double or triple
when comparing MS-60 to MS-62. Some of the less exacting dealers utilize
lesser known grading services and have been known to offer a "bargain" price for
a coin they claim is MS-62. Inexperienced buyers quickly latch onto their
lucky find, only to discover that the coin is regarded as an MS-60 by widely
accepted numismatic standards. Don't get caught in this unfortunate trap.
The "Sales Boxes" below initiate a search of eBay coin auctions to find the
key date
Indian Head Half Eagles indicated on the left side of the box that are currently
for sale. The left hand side also lists value trends over a very long
period of time for the key date in F-12 condition. The percent annual
increase since 1950 is computed to facilitate comparisons.
You may have luck finding several examples of the 1909-O and 1911-D to choose
from, but the 1929 is a different story. As you sort out your choices, be
certain to heed the grading advice above. The coin pictured
for sale in the right hand side, if any, is not necessarily the same condition coin
as that represented in the value trend analysis on left hand side.
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1909-O
Indian Head HE
Condition: F-12
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1911-D
Indian Head HE
Condition: F-12
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Value Trends
1950: $75.50
1980: $275
1995: $350
2003: $1250
2007: $4000
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Value Trends
1950: $11.00
1980: $150
1995: $250
2003: $450
2007: $550
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
7.23%
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% Annual Increase
Since 1950 =
7.10%
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A large crowd gathers in front of the Wall
Street stock exchange in New York on "Black Tuesday," October 29, 1929.
Panic began settling in on the trading floor on October 24, but it was on
Black Tuesday the stock market utterly collapsed. The Wall Street
Crash had a major impact on the U.S. and world economy. The decline in
stock prices caused bankruptcies and severe difficulties, including business
closures and millions of lost jobs. The resultant rise of mass unemployment
and the financial turbulence came about as a direct result of the crash, but
the crash itself was not the single event that triggered the widespread
downturn. Because Black Tuesday is so readily associated with
the crises that followed immediately, it is generally regarded as beginning
of the Great Depression.